The Game
by irishphoenix615
Summary: It's been several years since Bella and Edward got married, right out of high school. Now, Bella wants a divorce. All she wants is for you to listen to her story. From high school on. ALL HUMAN! BxE, AxJ, RxEm
1. Prologue

Silence.

I've spent a lot of time in silence lately, since we're not talking. Well, more like _I'm _not speaking to _him._

It's not that I'm some crazy bitch like everyone automatically assumes when I first tell them about my predicament. "You're married to Edward Cullen!" they always screech, as though I need any reminders. "Why on _Earth_ do you want a divorce?!"

It's not that simple, I always find myself explaining. Although, that is partially just to divert their attentions away from the fact that I want a "bogus" divorce from my "perfect" husband. This is the first thing that's ever been simple between us. But, of course, to preserve our carefully constructed façade, I always just tell them that looks aren't everything, and the love just… fizzed out. We got married to young. All very good reasons to want a divorce, yes. But none of those were true for us.

Not even close.

Because our love didn't just sporadically disappear. As painful as it is, I'm still just as head over heels for him as I was in high school, when I was absolutely positive he would never see me as anything more than Jasper Swan's baby sister. I still adore him as much as I did the night I agreed to become his wife. I am still as crazy about him as the day I became Mrs Cullen, just shy of my nineteenth birthday.

We hadn't been married too young. He was twenty, and although I was just days away from being nineteen, I was always very mature for my age. I had to be, or I never would've survived graduating two years ahead of my original class. We knew we were in love, and we even waited for two years to pacify Jazz, who wasn't ready for his best friend to become his brother-in-law.

How could he do this to me?

Maybe I should explain our story first, before asking you to follow the story of my sad, pitiful divorce.

No time like the present, right? We might as well start at the beginning: our senior year of high school.

Neither of us, nor Jasper for that matter, were normal senior age. Jasper had missed the cutoff by less than a week, so he turned eighteen almost immediately after school started. I was just barely sixteen.

Why was I sixteen my senior year? It was simple, really. I neglected myself, and my social life, in favor of graduating early and getting the fuck out of Forks, Washington. It might seem absurd (only to you ridiculous people who adore small-town life), but it was the truth.

Edward, however was about to be nineteen. He'd transferred in from somewhere in Canada in the middle of my "freshman" year. Our high school decided to dock all of the credits for classes we didn't offer at Forks High (which was, needless to say, a _lot_), bumping him back to Jazz's and my grade.

Looking back now, it's easier to laugh at how absurd my little crush on him really was back then. Granted, I find a lot of strange things funny now, like how every time Jasper and Alice come over, both Edward and I start to cry. But that's neither here nor there.

Edward and I seemed like total opposites, and in reality we really were very different: he was outspoken, popular, and friendly; I was quiet, shy, and so lonely I could hardly stand it. Our appearances were quite unlike as well; me with my long dark hair and dark brown eyes, and he with his perfect bronze hair and golden-toffee eyes.

But nevertheless, I loved him with all of my heart. Secretly, of course. Can you imagine the sort of mockery I would've gotten from Jasper had I actually told him I was harboring and indescribable amount of love for his best friend? And that I had been for years, ever since he and Edward had become friends?

Sorry, I keep getting side-tracked. But anyway, I really do promise I'm going to tell you the story. But all of this thinking about the beginning is making me maudlin. And I really hope you'll be objective and not just take Edward's side because he's "pretty."

Anyway, this is my story.


	2. Chapter One: The First Day

**Hey guys. So, a new story. It's loosely based on something I'm writing independent of this site.  
But I haven't forgotten about the last chapter of In The Mix. Or the two sequels to come.  
But I hope you like this one!  
-irishphoenix615**

The start of a new school is always especially painful if your classmates consider you a genius freak. It was even worse when your older brother is, and had been for three years, Public Desire #1.

Maybe that's why Isabella Swan detested the social part of high school so much.

Her father died about two months before the beginning of her senior year, leaving Bella and her brother with a paid-off mortgage and a not-quite-full-enough bank account. She and Jasper, her older brother, were still searching for a roommate who actually understood how difficult it was to live on their own. They were hoping that, any day now, one of their more mature classmates would severely piss off their parents badly enough to need somewhere to stay.

Because it was the first day, naturally Bella woke up late. She sighed, feeling more like an irresponsible freshman than a supposedly brilliant senior. She sighed, and took the quickest shower ever known to mankind. There was, of course, not enough time to fully dry her hair. So she simply yanked on some clothes, pulled a brush through her long brown hair, and hurried down the staircase, in a rather bad mood. This was only fuelled by the sight of Jasper, lounging lazily on the couch waiting for their ride; the perfect picture of at-ease.

"Hey Bells," he greeted, running a hand through his gorgeous blonde hair. _Why did I have to get all of the reject genes?_ "Ready for senior year?"

She wanted to rip that grin off of his face and gouge out his eyes. But the effort that was shining in his eyes, just to be pleasant to her, made her feel bad. Not bad enough, however, to keep her from snapping out, "No," viciously. Bella was _not_ a morning person.

They sat in silence for only a few more minutes before he decided to try again. "Y'know, I've never seen you at lunch. Where do you go?"

If looks could kill, Jasper would've been six feet under. "The parking lot." He'd always done a brilliant job of looking clueless, and that distinctly showed when he peered at her, seemingly unknowing. "Rather than impose myself on some group, I just spend my lunch hour in the parking lot."

To his credit, Jasper looked genuinely shocked. _His and Edward's jam-packed social schedules haven't allowed her to realize that he shares DNA with a social outcast,_ she snarked to herself. "You could always sit with Edward and me. You're always welcome with us." Bella couldn't help but throw back her head and laugh at that.

"Right; that'd go over _so_ well with you two's groupies of the week: "Hey, this is my mutant-freak sister. She'll be sitting with us until further notice, or until we realize how truly socially unacceptable she it." Thanks, but no thanks Jazz. Really, I'm just fine." Jasper opened his mouth to counter my argument, but she'd quit paying attention. Because, at that moment, her own personal Adonis had walked through their front door.

He was gorgeous; six-three, six-fourish, built but not disgustingly so, with waves of bronze hair. All of that was wonderful, of course, and was enough to make any girl weak, but it was all secondary compared to those toffee-colored orbs that were perfect windows to his soul.

Windows that were, at present, fixed right on Bella.

"Who thinks they're a social leper, and why are you so defensive over the girls we sit with?" _That voice… any girl with any smidge of hormones would be begging for him immediately. Sadly enough, I'm no exception,_ Bella mused, trying to calm down the erratic beating of her heart.

"Bella!" Jasper huffed, exasperated. He threw her a glare and grabbed his bag. _Always a fucking drama queen._ "And she called Alice and Angela groupies!" He whirled dramatically and flounced out. Bella just stared after him, wondering why she'd never pressured her brother into the drama program.

Deciding to suggest it later, she picked up her own bag, which was completely covered in patches, and turned towards the door. It seemed so natural to her not to say anything to Edward: he was Jasper's friend, not hers. Why would he talk to her? But, against all of her expectations, Edward reached out suddenly and placed his hand on her wrist. "You aren't a social leper, Bells." Startled, she turned and accidentally locked eyes with him. She was momentarily blinded, blinking flashbulbs out of her eyes. _My God, his eyes are so beautiful. _"You should come sit with us. Seriously. And," his eyes twinkled at her, and she felt her breath catch in her throat, "don't call Alice a groupie. He's really trying to catch her eye."

* * *

Their ride to school was very uneventful, even by their usual standards. Jasper and Edward joked around, punching each other and insulting everything. Bella was perfectly content to just lounge in the back seat, watching Edward laugh and drive, occasionally glancing in the rearview mirror and winking at her when he said something witty. Every single time, without fail, her breath would catch and she would be momentarily stunned before she remembered she was expected to laugh. Needless to say, she always sounded pathetically breathless.

Jasper, always the drama queen, heaved a great sigh as Edward glided effortlessly into a tiny space between two ancient SUVs. "Another day, another dollar-fifty," he said theatrically, climbing out. Edward rolled his eyes and followed, holding out his hand for Bella to grab.

"Careful, kid," he chuckled as she stumbled out of the car. "I don't want to have to take you to the hospital before you even get to gym."

"T-thank you," she stammered, blushing from the roots of her boring brown hair to the very tips of her fingers and toes. Jasper rolled his eyes, shifting his weight impatiently from foot to foot.

"This chivalry is making me puke. Come on, Edward." After making a face at Jasper's back, Edward shot Bella a smile and dutifully followed him into the throng of students milling around the parking lot.

Eager to skip the not-so-fabulous social scene, Bella hurried to the office, a small brick building, to retrieve her schedule. As usual, she had classes that seemed exceptionally boring: Economics, Government, Calculus, Health and the ever-dreaded Gym. However, she _did_ have Brit Lit and Genetics, but those were second semester; for now, she was stuck with Government, Calculus, Health, and Gym. _I absolutely despise school._

She slowly made her way to Building Two, dreading the next hour and a half. Mr Jenkins, the only Government teacher at Forks High School, was notoriously boring and bad-tempered. Granted, she reckoned she'd be slightly irritable if she had to deal with seniors all day.

Bella sighed and sat down in the back, pulling out her old, battered copy of Wuthering Heights. She didn't really want to reread it _again_, but being friendless gave her very limited options. She was halfway through the second chapter when students began to file in. She secretly stuffed her book back into her bag; everyone already thought she was a freak.

"Hey. Bella, right?"

Bella nearly jumped out of her skin. Her head snapped up and she locked eyes with another girl; she had short, black, pixie-cut hair, and rather pixie-like features in general. But what really made her freeze were the other girl's honey-colored eyes.

They were almost perfect replicas of Edward's. Not only in color and shape, but in the kind way they were focused on her as the small sprite set her bag down on the desk right next to Bella's.

"Y-yeah." Bella's cheeks burned brightly as she suddenly realized exactly who was speaking to her. "You're Alice, right? Jasper's friend?"

She nodded enthusiastically and slid into the seat next to her, eyes sparkling at the mention of Jasper. "Yeah. Alice Cullen."

Bella's eyebrows shot up into her hairline. If they were related, that would explain the freaky eyes. "Oh. Is Edward your brother?"

"Nah; cousin. But you _are_ Jasper's sister." It wasn't a question. "Edward and Jazz told me about you. Why don't you hang out with the four of us?"

Bella planned on answering with her usual hurting-Jasper's-social-status response, she really did, until Alice's words really sunk in. _Four. And Jasper's after Alice. So that leaves Angela for Edward_.

She felt a fissure, as wide and deep as the Grand Canyon, split her heart. _That would be why Edward got all defensive when I slammed them as groupies. His cousin and his girlfriend. Good job, Bell!_

"Bella?" Alice sounded worried, snapping her out of her depressed funk. "You still with me?"

"Yeah," Bella answered unsteadily, trying to shake off her mounting depression. "I just don't want to be a fifth wheel. It's easier to hang out by myself." Alice opened her mouth to respond, but just then Jenkins walked in.

Of all the teachers at Forks High, Jenkins was the only one who could make a group of rowdy seniors go absolutely silent just by being in the same room. But that wasn't why he was so intimidating. He ad coal-black eyes, and presently they were narrowed in fury.

"Be quiet," he said, unnecessarily. "I don't expect you to ever understand the complexity of the American government, but the state of Washington says I have to try to make you. Don't make this more difficult than it has to be. Just sit there, shut up, and pass."

The or else went unsaid. He glared around the room once more before stalking out. "Psychotic bastard," Alice muttered, shaking her head. "I can't believe we're stuck with him. Is that Wuthering Heights in your bag?"

The rest of the period, thankfully Jenkins-free, passed in much the same way, with Alice questioning her, and then discussing whatever the questions brought up. Bella, by the time the bell rang, was almost completely at-ease talking to Alice. However, as soon as she walked away from the tiny pixie, she seemed to remember who she was. She berated herself all the way to Calculus.

_How could you __**do**_ _that, Isabella?! You don't have time to be distracted by pity friendships from your brother's girlfriend. There's plenty of time for __**REAL**__ friendships in college. Oh well, doesn't matter. One day is usually enough for most people. Fuck Jasper and his big mouth._ She stewed all the way through Calculus, egged on by the already-complex subject. She hated math.

By the time she had to go to lunch, Bella was in a right foul state. She angrily stomped out of Building Six and toward the parking lot, heading toward her usual lunchtime haunt: the decrepit, ancient tennis courts, more specifically an old oak. However, the universe was against her. Someone was already sitting beneath her tree._ No. Nonono! _Drawing closer, she began to make out a thatch of golden hair and fair skin. Her heart nearly stopped, then began to thump against her ribcage frantically.

Edward Cullen was at _her_ tree.

Her first instinct was to turn and run. She hadn't been alone with him since after her father's funeral. She was terrified of being foolish in his eyes. _Hurry up, Isabella! Turn around and leave! He hasn't seen you yet!_ He glanced up, smiled, and beckoned her over. _Shit. Too late now._

"Hey Bella," he smiled as she drew near. "Alice told me you probably wouldn't come hang with us. So I decided to come to you." He shot her a dazzling smile, and her heart stopped.

"Y-yeah. I didn't know she was your cousin. She's nice." As soon as she said it, Bella wanted to throw herself into oncoming traffic. _What are you __**doing**__, you fool?! He. Doesn't. Care. _He laughed, a deep, throaty sound that made her senses sing in a way that wasn't entirely unpleasant. "So, um, why did you and Jasper decide to meddle in my lack of friends?"

He shrugged nonchalantly. "Jazz kept worrying that you were lonely, and we both knew you'd never admit it, or accept 'help.' So we sent Alice to see if you were as lonely as Jasper thought."

Bella rolled her eyes. "Your prognosis, doctor?" she asked, making him laugh again.

"Wrong Cullen, sweetie." Bella swooned. "But, the situation is worse than we thought. And I've decided to do something about it."

She was perfectly prepared to make a snappy retort; to fire back. Until, of course, her brain brought back her and Alice's earlier conversation. _Four._ "What does Angela think about your desperate need to be a good Samaritan?"

"Angela?" he asked, sounding genuinely shocked. "Why would Angela care about my talking to you?"

It was like being slapped in the face. _Of course Angela doesn't care. I'm no threat to them._

"Come sit by me, Bells. Quit dallying and just come here." He sounded frustrated, like she was being ridiculous. Her brain screamed at her to bolt; after all, he was a predator. It was only in predators that wonderful looks, high intelligence, and leadership could be found. Not to mention he was more alluring than water to plagued with thirst.

Perhaps that's why she found her legs walking over and then folding her neatly next to him.


	3. Chatper Two: His Woman

**Good News!: I get tomorrow off to work on this and my new story.  
Bad News!: It's because of the election.**

**So! Hopefully, I can just tune out the random people screaming through the streets because so-and-so voted for the other person, and work.  
Thank you for working.**

* * *

The first three weeks of school passed in much the same fashion: Government with Alice, Calculus worrying, lunch with Edward, Health with her thoughts of euphoria, and Gym with Jasper. Gym was still atrocious, but it was better than her last five years of school, when she'd been moved ahead. The classes she had (academically speaking, of course) were rather easy. The teachers taught with the mindset that all of their students were suffering from a severe case of senioritis, so everything was very straightforward and clear cut. And it bored Bella to tears. This was _always_ the case in Health.

Tuesday afternoon found Bella hunched over her desk, half-listening to Mrs Craig drone dryly on about alcohol addiction, half-mulling over her lunch with Edward, when the opening of the door shook her out of her stupor. Mrs Craig was a huge stickler for uninterrupted learning. No passes in, no passes out, unless it was an emergency. She lectured for ninety minutes straight, every day. So when a guidance counselor barged in practically frog-marching a boy into the room, everyone was close to cheering.

He was huge, at least six-five. He had dark bronze skin, the color of treated leather, and deep brown eyes. He stared shyly around the room, eyes landing and locking on Bella.

"This is Jacob Black, Mrs Craig. He's your new student. Sorry to have to interrupt you." The counselor hurriedly ducked out of the room. Mrs Craig simply motioned him toward to the seat next to Bella, the only empty desk in the room, and just steamrolled on with her lecture. The new boy simply smiled at Bella and winked, startling her out of her boredom.

_He __is__ attractive, _she mused silently, completely unnerved. _But why the hell would he be interested in me? Maybe he's one of those jerk-offs who flirt with everyone because they have no standards and just want some ass._ She shifted uncomfortably in her seat, displeased with her negative thoughts. _Or __maybe__ he's just a genuinely nice guy just trying to make friends._The rest of Health passed rather quickly for Bella, who could find something to take notes about even in the most boring of lectures. She wasn't looking forward to Gym at all; who would be, with coordination like hers? She sighed ruefully. She _detested _Gym.

"Excuse me," came a voice she didn't recognize; slightly to her right. It was deep and clear, the kind of voice Bella thought deserved to be narrating audiobooks. She glanced up into the dark brown eyes of the new boy, Jacob. "I was wondering if you could show me where the Gym is? I'm supposed to be there now."

_Confident, almost cocky. _Bella could have cried. Of course he would be. She'd begun to hope that maybe he would be nice and kind, someone to get her mind off of Edward, but there was no way. She bit back a sigh and forced herself to smile. "Sure, it's my next class too. It's this way…" she trailed off and hitched her bag onto her shoulder, feeling her muscles scream in protest. She merely started walking, counting on him to follow.

The walk to Gym simply solidified her theory – Jacob Black was very cocky and confident; annoyingly so. He was so proud of his Native American heritage it almost made her cover her ears and sing just to drown him out. It was all he could talk about, how he had been too advanced for the school on the local reservation, so they'd sent him to Forks High. How he was thought of as an ambassador of sorts among his peers, and they all looked to him for updates on the "outside world." Bella was so relieved to be rid of him when she reached the girls' locker room she nearly danced for joy.

"Are you okay, Bella?" her locker partner, Renesmee, asked. Melody was very new, only having moved to Forks a few days previously. From what Bella could tell, she was a very agreeable person, someone she'd like to get to know. But Renesmee had been getting a few strange glances from Edward and that made Bella nervous. Now, however, there was a genuine concern on her face.

_Probably hasn't ever seen me this ecstatic,_ Bella mused. "I'm fine, Renesmee. It's just that the new guy, Jacob, is probably the most annoying human being I've ever encountered." Renesmee just laughed and tossed Bella her shirt, silently telling her to hurry up. Bella hastily pulled on the rest of her Gym clothes and joined Renesmee in the daily ritualistic torture the Gym teacher had set up for her.

* * *

The ride home was always interesting for Bella. Ever since Bella and Alice had become friends, Jasper saw it fit to take the tiny pixie home as well. Jasper's attraction to the girl had kicked Edward out of the passenger's seat, putting him next to Bella in the back whenever Jasper drove. Edward took it well, understanding that Jasper's interest in Alice was the first actual deep attraction he'd felt since… well, nobody really knew if Jazz had _ever_ liked anyone as much as he liked Alice.

The day Jacob Black arrived was particularly interesting. Jasper had taken his sweet time dressing back into his regular clothes as he usually did, putting on that God-awful (at least to Bella, it seemed to make Alice smile) cologne their father had bought him for his sixteenth birthday. Bella'd had to wait for him, jittery and nervous; her stupid brother was cutting into her Edward time. _Jeez Bell, you sound pathetic. Edward time, what next? Get a grip. _Still, she couldn't stop the impatient tapping of her foot as she dallied.

He emerged several minutes later, shooting her a bright smile as she choked on the scent of that horrendous cologne. He cocked his head to the side. "What's the matter, Bells? You look disgusted."

"Have you ever heard that a little goes a long way?" she snapped, making him jump a little. "Just be glad I'm not Alice. You could really take a hint from Edward now and then, instead of taking a bath in the stinking stuff." Jasper just laughed, slinging an arm around her and beginning to walk of the building toward their car.

"Hush, Bella. And besides, Edward does what his woman likes, I do what mine likes."

Bella's eyes, the true windows to her soul, widened in shock. "His woman?" she practically whispered, holding back the sudden tears that pricked at her eyes. _Of course, you dolt. Angela got to him. _Jasper cocked his head to the side again, and for the first time in her life it didn't make Bella want to punch him. She didn't have the strength. Every ounce of energy that she had was devoted to making sure she didn't break down in the middle of the parking lot. _Home, Bella. Jasper will go out, as usual. You'll be alone to cry._

"Yeah, his woman." He paused, shooting her a bewildered glance. "You okay, Bells? You look really pale."

"I'm fine," she shot back, not daring to turn toward the two people leaning against the car. How could Alice not find this important to mention it to her?! She'd all but told the minute girl how much she adored her cousin. "I'm just tired. Let's get home, okay?"

Jasper stopped walking altogether, turning to stare at her. "Are you sure? You look… well, almost like you did when Dad died." No matter how they argued, and fought, and generally annoyed each other, they always seemed to understand one another. "You look sick, Bells. Maybe I shouldn't go out tonight…"

"I'll be fine!" Bella nearly cried, panic-stricken. _If he doesn't leave, I can't be alone…_ she was horrified. "Honestly. Come on, let's just go. I'm just tired." It was a bad excuse, but luckily Jasper bought it. They made their way over to the car Alice and Edward were standing next to; Bella forced a smile onto her face, refusing to meet Edward's eyes.

"Hi Jasper! Hi Bella!" Alice chirruped, smiling brightly at Jasper. Bella's head pounded, her heart mimicking the action. "What's the matter, Bells, you look like you've seen a ghost." Bella merely gaped at her, refusing to look to the right of the tiny pixie. For the first time since she met Alice, she desperately wished the girl wasn't so perceptive.

Jasper coughed lightly, bringing Alice's attention back to him. "She's fine, she's just tired. Somebody keeps staying up all night reading." Bella's cheeks flamed. _Way to go, Jazz. Make me sound like a nerdy freak, why don't you? _Jasper shot Alice a wide smile, making her eyes sparkle and Bella could fuzzily discern a look of annoyance on Edward's face. She instantly felt her eyes well up again; why did he do this to her?

Bella slid into the seat behind Jasper and stared resolutely out of the window. She would not look at Edward more than absolutely necessary. It was bad enough to see his reflection in the window, all smiles and jokes, when she felt like she was being ripped apart from the inside. She struggled furiously with her tear ducts, momentarily winning the battle.

"Hey Bells." Her eyes fluttered closed; she'd never realized just how heartbreaking his voice was. "Als is coming out with Jazz and I tonight. Maybe you could come too?" Bella turned around for half a second, meeting his dazzling eyes for half a second before dropping her eyes.

"I don't think so, Edward," she flinched away from the frostiness of her own voice. "I'm just going to go home and sleep."

"Are you sure?" _He has absolutely no right to be hurt! Why the hell would he be hurt? I'm the one who just got her heart broken!_ "C'mon, it'll be a lot of fun."

"I'm positive."

Bella flounced back around and stared out the window again, refusing to meet the reflection's shocked, hurt gaze. Doing so would just injure her further. She glared furiously out at the passing scenery. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught Jasper staring at her in shock. _Of course. I just insulted his best friend. Jeez, he probably thinks I'm the moodiest bitch ever. Oh well. I really don't care. _

What she didn't catch, however, was the look all three of her cohorts shared while she kept up her stony wall of silence.

* * *

**So, there it is, the end of chapter two.  
It may seem like it's moving a bit fast.  
It's supposed to be. But the next chapter IS a continuation of this episode.**

**Please review! It makes my day. **


	4. Chapter Three: A Change Of Scenery

**Welcome to chapter three! Well, updates might go slightly slower. I can try to promise at least one a week, and one on weekends, but please don't hate me if I can't deliver all the time. I'm literally writing this story all the time, when I'm not either doing something in school (which is hardly ever) or at practice (which is always). I hope that I don't frustrate you all too much.  
But I promise, I won't "forget" about this for a year like I did with my last story.  
Promise!  
Anyway, here's chapter three.**

**PS – I'm sorry about the errors in the last few chapters. I was just in a hurry to get them up. I'm trying to make these error-free, but I'm not perfect.**

Bella barely made it inside the front door before she lost it. She'd somehow managed to make it through an entire car ride and even convinced them to keep from accompanying her into the house. Now, as she watched Jasper, Alice, and Edward drive off to some unknown destination, she let the tears flow freely down her cheeks.

Of course Edward would have found someone. It was his senior year; _everyone_ had someone in their senior year. It was his last opportunity to have some loose-commitment fun before he headed off to college and actually got serious about finding someone. And as silly as she knew she was being, Bella had sincerely hoped beyond hope that he would've chosen her.

_Stupid shiny-Volvo owner,_ she thought furiously, wiping tears from her eyes. But, after her third scoop of Ben and Jerry's Chocolate Fudge Brownie ice cream, the rational side of her brain began to take over. _You wouldn't have gotten a chance with him anyway, Isabella. You know as well as he would've that Jasper would've flipped his shit if you two even __**considered**__ dating. _That didn't do anything to ease the pain, though.

Bella sighed ruefully, eyeing the remaining ice cream longingly. _Don't you even think about it. The __**last**__ thing you need is to be getting fat. _She put the carton away grudgingly before flopping down on the couch for what she was hoping would be a good nap. She snuggled down into the cushions and dragged a blanket over herself, closing her eyes. She was finally going to get the rest she needed.

Of course not.

Fifteen mere minutes after she'd begun her quest for sleep, the front door banged loudly open. Bella growled, twisting her face to block out the sudden light.

"Oh Bellaaaaaaaaa!" Blissful Alice.

"Morning, sunshine." Jasper, amused.

"Hey Bella." She suppressed a groan at Edward's melodic voice. _**Why**__ does he have to be Jasper's best friend?! _Her eyes popped open angrily and she swiveled her neck to tell them to piss off when she tweaked her shoulder muscle. Bella screamed loudly, feeling the fiery pain shoot from her shoulder all the way through her neck. She instantly squeezed her eyes shut again, trying to will the pain away. Someone was at her side in less than a moment, but she couldn't tell who it was. All she knew was that someone was prodding her shoulder gently with cool fingers (_So it's not Jazz, then; since Alice is around, his skin would be all hot_) until she yelled again.

"I think you've pulled a muscle," came the quiet, masculine voice. Bella nearly died; of _course_ it would be Edward. "What've you been doing to it, Bella? I barely applied any pressure."

"Nothing," she ground out from between her teeth. The feeling of his concerned touch and the sound of his worried voice almost drove her to sobs. "It's probably just from my bag is all. I'm fine." She wiggled away and flipped over, wincing when she landed on her shoulder.

"I certainly hope so!" Alice announced gleefully, pushing Bella to a sitting position. "We have to pack all of your stuff!"

"Alice," Jasper warned the moment Bella's eyes widened. "Slowly; you promised."

Bella glanced between them, avoiding Edward, eyes narrowing. Jasper and Alice were definitely up to something. _Why do I have to pack up all of my stuff? That makes absolutely no sense. What the hell do they have planned?_ Bella stiffened in suspicion. Jasper merely smiled at her before extending his hand to help her up. "Come on, kitchen. We all have to talk about this."

"What the hell is going on, Jasper?" Bella asked, completely ignoring his hand and glaring up into his face. A host of emotions flitted across his face before finally settling on annoyed. He reached down and grabbed the hand not attached to the hurt shoulder and yanked, _hard._ Bella flew off the couch and sprawled against her brother's chest indignantly. She ripped her hand away from him and glared up into his eyes. "I deserve an explanation, Jasper!"

"And you'll get one," he growled out, eyes flashing, "as soon as you get in the kitchen. I don't know what the fuck your problem is, Isabella, but you've been acting like a bitch since we got out of Gym."

"It's none of your business, Jasper," Bella snapped, stalking off into the kitchen. It was easier for her to channel her heartache into fury than to actually show the true pain. She had been doing it even since her mother, Renee, had run off with a baseball player one day when she was twelve. Besides, Jasper would have one of two reactions to her feelings for Edward: he would either get furious with her for entertaining such stupid thoughts, or he'd laugh and would never be able to stop whenever both Bella and Edward were around. But Bella would never tell Jasper, so she didn't feel the need to focus on these possibilities. She flung herself down into the chair she usually ate in.

"Bella…" Alice said dubiously, hesitant. Bella's face instantly flamed; she really had been acting like a bitch. "Jazz, are you sure this is the right time? Maybe we should wait a few days…"

"No." Bella expected the rebuttal to come from Jasper, but hearing Edward speak first completely shocked her. Her eyes snapped to his immediately and saw the pain hiding there; her bitchiness was obviously hurting him, and it made her feel wretched. "No. You guys are moving in, tonight. We got the go-ahead from Mom and Dad, and I want to take full advantage of having my best friend in the house." Edward's eyes were fierce as he locked them onto hers, and she felt the breath in her lungs fly out in a _whoosh_. "Bella, you and Jasper are moving into my house. My parents don't like the fact that you two are living here alone. So, she wanted you guys to move in. Jazz and I made the final arrangements this morning. My parents live in a cottage behind the house; they say Alice and I get too rowdy for them sometimes. You'll be in the main house with us, everyone can have their own bedroom, please just agree Bella." The last part came out in a rush; he obviously didn't mean to say that much.

Bella's chocolate eyes widened incredulously. _We're moving in with them?! Shit. Now I'll never be able to avoid him. Maybe it's a good thing… Maybe I'll get over him. _"Okay," she whispered, holding Edward's gaze for a few moments before he shifted his eyes toward Jasper, nodding. Alice squealed happily and nearly flattened Bella into the chair she was sitting in.

"Yay! Oh Bella, now we get to hang out all the time!" she cried, flinging her arms around the brunette. Bella chuckled lightly against her, hugging her briefly. "We have to go get your stuff! The sooner the better!" She trilled before racing up the stairs into Bella's room.

Bella simply smiled at the tiny sprite's back before shaking her head. _Now you __**have **__to get over this silly crush. Maybe you'll finally just suck it up and be friendly. Yeah, that's it. Friendly…_ She was so caught up in her thoughts she didn't even realize that she'd been smiling widely to herself until she glanced outward and found Jasper and Edward staring at her. "Oh! Sorry about that. I'm sorry about… earlier. I didn't really mean to be such a bitch. Really." She smirked at the slack-jawed expressions on their faces before hurrying after Alice.

* * *

It only took Alice and Bella an hour and a half to pack up all of the brunette's belongings. Jasper was only a quarter of the way done with his stuff, so she and Alice left the boys to their own devices and took Edward's car to drop off her stuff.

They pulled up to the Cullen home, and Bella lost her breath. Everyone knew Edward's parents were loaded, it was just common knowledge. But Bella had always assumed that after accepting Alice, their niece, into their home, they'd be a little pressed for cash. Obviously not, if they could still afford this house. It could easily fit three of her and Jasper's house inside. She could see a smaller cottage partially hidden by the surrounding woods. She remembered Edward's words; that was where Carlisle and Esme Cullen lived.

"Damn Alice," Bella said, voice low in appreciation. Alice simply smirked and danced up the walk with three boxes in her arms. She grabbed the last two and rushed up after her, not eager to be alone in the dusky woods. She dashed up the stairs in the foyer, just a few behind the pixie, without looking around. The last thing she needed was to fall back into shock about the amount of wealth the Cullens had.

"This is going to be your room!" She announced, two staircases later. Bella came up, huffing and puffing, a few seconds later. She wasn't out of shape, but she certainly wasn't used to carrying boxes up three flights of stairs. "It's a smidge bigger than your old room… We'll go shopping this weekend! Oh, this'll be great!" She cheered, throwing her arms around the brunette. Bella peeked over her shoulder curiously.

"Whose room is that, Alice?" she asked, tilting her head and staring. Alice suddenly got very, very quiet and very, very preoccupied with making sure nothing in the boxes had been unsettled. "It's his, isn't it?! Alice! Why?!"

"Because!" she exclaimed, biting her lip softly. "I… I know you like him, Bells! And, um, I kinda wanted to have Jazz on the same floor as me, just in case…." She stared imploringly at Bella, begging her to understand. Bella simply flung her hands in the air, shook her head, and smiled.

"I _knew _there was something going on. Tell me everything, maybe I can help. After all, I am his sister."

**Well, that was chapter three! Them moving in IS important, I promise.  
I do everything for a reason. Well... Mostly. Haha.  
Thanks for reading, and please drop me a review! I love them. They really do make my day.  
-irishphoenix615**

**Thanks to my reviewers!:  
BelleDuJour: I hope this wasn't too much of a stretch of "soon." Thanks for the review!  
DarkAngelRakell: I know it's confusing, but I hope it does become easier. Thanks for the review!  
akaMrsEdwardCullen: Soon, soon. Thanks for the review!  
edwardandbellabelong2gether: Thank you! I like your name, and agree completely! Thanks for the review!  
ShelbieJames: Yeah, math is definitely not my strong suit. And I redid that thing so many times, I'm not surprised my dates got scrambled. When they got married, Bella was ALMOST 19. And Edward was 21. And at the moment, he's about... oh, seven months away from being nineteen. At least, that's how it was in my original version. I hope that works, if not I'll just bump his age up. Thanks for the review!**


	5. Chapter Four: Jealous?

**Hello there! Well, I already went past my "deadline." I'm sorry about that. I managed to catapult myself from staff writer to editor of my school's lit magazine, and we JUST sent off our first issue to be bound. And practice takes up at least four hours a day. I know it's no excuse, but oh well.  
Thanks for reading!  
-irishphoenix615**

It didn't take that long for Alice and Bella to come up with a plan of "attack." Bella, being Jasper's little sister, knew much more about him than anyone, even Edward. Bella knew his slight quirks: how he could only drink coffee with two and a half spoonfuls of sugar, how he couldn't have anything shiny on his clothing, because he was scared of things crawling on him and out of the corner of his eye, it looked like a bug. But Bella had abstained from what was probably the most crucial detail: that every night, without fail, Jasper would talk about the tiny pixie in his sleep.

_Handing it to her won't make it as meaningful, _she sighed internally. She felt bad, of course, but just giving Alice her brother on a silver platter was not something Bella could justify.

"Thank you so much!" Alice squealed, flinging herself across the king-sized bed and throwing her arms around the brunette's neck. "Bells, I'm so excited. Now I just have to get you and Edward together!" Bella hushed her nervously; the boys had turned up with their first load about two minutes previously.

"Alice! Hush!" she said anxiously, hurrying across the room to shut the door. "And good luck with that. He already has a woman." Recognition flashed across Alice's face. Bella cocked her head curiously before continuing. "And besides, I'm happy helping you. I like making people happy, and you obviously would be very happy with my brother. It's all good."

"Hey girls." Jasper knocked gently, making Bella jump. She opened the door hastily. "Edward and I are going out for pizza; you two want to come?" Alice was off of the bed and across the room in less time than it took for Bella to blink.

"We'd love to," she beamed at him. Jazz looked slightly dazzled, but smiled back after a brief moment. Bella felt like gagging; it was almost sickening how much they liked each other. At least Alice waited until the heavy clunking of Jasper's footsteps faded down the stairs before squealing excitedly and throwing her arms around Bella and jumping up and down. "Oh my god! Bella! I can't believe they asked us to dinner; it's only the first night! What am I going to wear?" she moaned, staring with dismay into Bella's chocolate-brown eyes. "I don't have anything! Ooh, I wish I'd had more than fifteen minutes notice! I need to go –"

"Alice!" Bella shook her by the shoulders, staring into her caramel eyes. "Really? C'mon, all you need is jeans and a T-shirt. He already likes you, and it's not like we're going to –"

"Is-a-bell-a." Alice broke her name into four distinct syllables, gaping at her like she'd grown a third arm out of her forehead. "Jeans and a T-shirt are _not _acceptable dinner wear, even if it _is_ just pizza. They aren't even acceptable for a farm! I have _got_ to teach you about the importance of clothes! And don't even _think _about wearing anything similar to dinner! Do you even have any other clothes? Nevermind, you can borrow something of mine." Alice was already halfway toward the stairs. "Bella?" she asked sharply, turning around and staring. "Come on, we have to get you dressed."

It was Bella's turn to let her jaw flop like a fish out of water. She was so blindsided by Alice's generosity, she didn't even remember how to breathe. She'd never had a true girlfriend to share clothes with, or even one who cared enough about her to try and help her look good. _Hell, I've never had a girlfriend of any sort,_ she snorted to herself.

Perhaps that was why she followed the petite girl to her room and into her huge walk-in closet. She was even mildly happy with the way things were going until she got a good look at Alice's clothing. _How could she even possibly think her clothes would fit me?! Her clothes won't even fit over my calf. Yeesh, I don't know if this is such a good idea. I don't want to rip her precious belongings… _"Alice?" she asked faintly, watching the diminutive girl flit around happily, pulling shirts and skirts and pairs of heels from all direction. She paused for half a millisecond and Bella took that as a sign to continue. "Alice, I don't think I'm going to fit. Your clothes are really pretty and all, but I don't want to ruin them…"

Bella allowed herself to trail off when she caught the fierce glare Alice was giving her. She quieted quickly, fearing the wrath of the pixie. "Bella, shut up. You and I are practically the same size." _Not even, Alice. I'm not stupid._ "Here, these are a few options. Go try these on in my room; I'll get dressed in here. You have three minutes and then I'll be out to do your makeup."

Bella scooted out of the room hurriedly. She studied the outfits carefully before choosing a mildly short plaid skirt and a lacy black top. She hurriedly pulled them on, along with a pair of leather boots with a three-inch stiletto heel. She wobbled unsteadily before righting herself. Two point five seconds later, Alice was walking out of the closet and using the tiled floor as a runway.

"Nice choice, Bells. That skirt is killer. Come here."

* * *

The first two weeks Bella lived in the Cullen home were even happier than her first weeks at school. She, Jasper, Alice, and Edward were acting more and more like a cohesive family, Jasper and Alice more couple-y than ever. Bella was starting to believe that if she had to watch those two make eyes at each other over dinner or during a movie one more time, she really was going to lose her mind. She and Edward had several jokes about the two.

That was another thing Bella loved about living with the Cullens – a lot of one-on-one time with the beautiful Adonis himself. He always made her blush, no matter what he was saying; it was just what he did. They got along so wonderfully Alice often asked if they were dating in secret. It made Bella somewhat sad to say no.

However, Bella's second least favorite time of year was rapidly approaching. It was Homecoming Week. This was only beaten in detestation by prom. Bella just didn't understand why everyone got so worked up about a week that, theoretically, was just like any other week besides the "special" football game on Friday and the dance on Saturday. Every day of the school week had a special "theme." Of course, in a small town, the people who _didn't_ participate in the silly "spirit days" stuck out like a sore thumb.

Monday was tie-dye day. The entire school was decked out in ridiculous shirts and silly headbands, giving Bella a huge headache. She refused to look around in class unless she absolutely had to, especially if it were in the direction of Mike Newton, the football team captain. There were clusters of eager girls swarming around him, mainly the cheerleading squad, and Bella couldn't wait until he just picked one so the others would quit giggling.

Lunch couldn't have come sooner in her opinion. She practically sprinted to the tree. Even though she and Edward saw each other every day, he still insisted on eating lunch with her. She'd told him many times that he didn't have to feel obligated just because her brother was dating his cousin (although it wasn't official yet), yet he'd always just chuckled and rubbed her hair. Not that she minded; she loved it when he touched her.

"Hey kid," he greeted, making her flush. _Of course he still treats me like a kid. I am practically his little sister. _She smiled ruefully, still lost in her daydreams from Calculus; the ones where Edward was madly in love with her.

"Hey jerkface." This was a common greeting from Bella; a few days previously, Edward had been assigned to Wake Up Duty in the house. He'd decided that Bella wouldn't wake up if he'd taken a traditional approach, so he decided to put frozen marbles into her bed. Needless to say, 'jerkface' wasn't the only word coming out of her mouth that morning.

He just simply smiled his perfect crooked smile. Bella felt her breath catch in her throat. "Oh be quiet Bells. It was just fun-"

"Bella!"

Bella barely suppressed her groan. That was the one voice she detested hearing most out of everyone's: Jacob Black. "Heeey Jake," she smiled, and wondered who could tell it was forced. _Obviously not Black,_ she seethed as he wrapped his arms around her. "What's up?"

"Not much," he winked, nearly making her puke. _Why me?_ "Just saw you sitting over here with Cullen and figured I'd come talk to you and save you from boredom." He laughed, clapping Edward on the back. Edward's face mirrored how she was feeling. "So, you got plans for this Saturday? For the dance?" Bella opened her mouth to respond, but he just steamrolled on. "Because I was thinking we could go together, you know, make your weekend worthwhile. I'll pick you up at six-thirty. Got it?" Bella's mouth flopped open uselessly. "Good, baby. See you –"

"Excuse me." Bella's eyes flashed up to Edward's; they were hard and cold, and staring at Jacob as though he wanted nothing more than to kill him brutally. "Bella already has a date."

"Oh?" Jacob sounded disbelieving. _Sheesh Black, I never realized that you thought I was __**that**__ undesirable._ "Who?"

Edward's eyes flashed in cold fury as he snaked his arm around Bella's waist, nearly making her pass out.

"Me."

**Well, what'd you think? Good? Bad? Confusing? Unexpected? Review and tell me. And you'll see your name at the end of the next chapter.  
-irishphoenix615**

**Thanks to my reviewers:**

**Petaloutha (1****st****): ****Haha, I'm sorry it took me so long. Hope you enjoyed it. Thanks for the review.  
****edwardandbellabelong2gether: ****Thank you for the review! Hope this one was good too.  
****Blue-Eyed Chica: ****Thank you for your review, and your support!  
****Petaloutha (2****nd****): ****It makes me happy to read that. Thank you so much for your reviews!  
****BelleDuJour: ****Yes, very soon. Next chapter, in fact! Thanks for your review!  
****LoveUnfailing:**** Thank you so much! I hope it lives up to your expectations. Thanks for the review!**


	6. Chapter Five: Clarifications

**Okay, another chapter in a week! Yay! This chapter is, in large part, due to the fact that (a) my lit mag teacher really doesn't care what I work on as long as I work, and (b) you guys are all AWESOME and I got great response to my last chapter. After this chapter, I'll probably have my sister editing everything, because I can't edit my own work. Obviously.  
Well, if I expect to get this posted before I have to leave this class, I should really shut up now.  
-irishphoenix615 (from school)**

The stunned look on Jacob's face must've mirrored the one on Bella's. She quickly rearranged her features so the infuriating boy wouldn't see through the already-shaky alibi. "You?" he asked slowly, as though he couldn't believe it. "Well, Cullen, I didn't see you as the type to like someone as… innocent as Bella. I always pictured you as someone who would go for the slightly more… adventurous college girls."

Edward's grip tightened painfully on Bella's waist. She whimpered slightly, and he gently released some of the pressure. "Fuck off, Black," he snarled. This time, Bella couldn't quiet her gasp of shock. "You don't know anything about me, or my relationship with Bella."

Jacob smirked; he knew he'd hit a major nerve. "Whatever you say, Cullen," was all he said before turning on his heel and walking into the Health and Personal Fitness Building. Bella simply swiveled around to face him, never breaking contact with Edward's rock-steady arm.

"What was _that_?" she whispered, still in shock. Her chocolate eyes caught Edward's slowly warming tawny ones and she felt her cheeks instantly go up in flames. Edward watched her for a few seconds before turning everything Bella believed about the world upside down.

He blushed and looked away.

_**Edward Cullen **__blushed and looked away from __**me**__, Plain Jane Isabella Swan?! Did I even remember to wake up in Calc? Probably not, if this is happening. I'm obviously still dreaming. But I've never had this one before; might as well see where it goes._

"Sorry about that, Bells," he apologized, his voice slightly hoarse, before halfway removing his arm from around her. "I don't like him, and my temper got the best of me. I'm sorry if you were planning on saying yes, but… I just couldn't let him talk to you like that." He bit his lip and looked down at her shyly, nearly sending her into cardiac arrest.

"I-It's okay," she whispered, embarrassed. "Thank you for covering for me; I really can't stand him. He didn't even give me the chance to say no. But thanks, again." She smiled slightly, completely ignoring that little voice in the back of her head; the one that was telling her to walk away before she got hurt. _I'm done playing. _She mentally squared her shoulders, preparing herself for the worst. "So, who are you really going with?"

It was Edward's turn to stare at her like she'd grown a third arm. _What is it with his family and giving me that look?_ "Bella. I'm going with you." Her jaw dropped. _Wow Bells, I bet that's just super-attractive! _She just stared at him, waiting for the punch line, the, 'Haha, just kidding!'

But Edward didn't seem like he was opening his mouth anytime soon.

"But…" she floundered around in her brain for something to follow up her 'but' with something besides, 'you're too attractive to possibly want to be seen in public with me.' "But you already have a woman!" _Good going, make it sound like you don't want to go with him. Why can't you just be a normal fucking teenage girl and giggle and flirt?! Is that so hard? _

Two small creases formed between Edward's eyebrows as he crinkled them in confusion. "I do? Who said that?" Bella couldn't even look up at him.

"Jasper. I was yelling at him about the cologne a few weeks ago, and I told him to take a page out of your book, and he told me he was just doing what his woman liked and you did what yours liked." This was obviously the wrong thing to say. The storm clouds were back in his eyes the moment she closed her mouth.

"Bells," he said, voice strained. She glanced back up at him. "I'm going with you. Jasper's a dumbass; don't believe him. Seriously." Bella stared up at him in shock; it was almost as though he was speaking Russian. _Does Edward Anthony Cullen actually want to take __**me**__ to homecoming?! Am I dreaming? Really?_

"A-Are we doubling with Alice and Jasper?" she asked shakily, making his eyebrows rumple again in concern. "I mean, so you could just play it off that you were taking me so we could all go as a group of friends, but Alice and Jasper hooked up right before… that way if Angela wants to dance with you, nobody thinks it's weird that you're not dancing with your date…" Edward's sudden outburst of laughter made her frown in confusion. She cocked her head to the side as he threw his head back, loud peals echoing off of the side fence and building walls.

"Bella, do I have to spell it out for you? I'm going to homecoming with you, as my date. My one and only, official date," he explained slowly, like one might speak to an irrational four-year-old. "We can double with Jazz and Als if you want, but I'd really like to show you what high school can really be like: when every guy is looking at you and going, 'Damn, I wish I'd asked her before Cullen did; she's absolutely breathtaking.'"

His warm smile and flattering words nearly knocked her out. Indeed, her knees began to wobble, but she took this as a welcome side-effect; it only made Edward turn his whole body toward her and wrap both arms around her waist. She returned his grin weakly; it was all she could manage. He seemed to realize this, and it made him chuckle again as the bell rang.

"Well, I'll see you at the car," she mumbled, uneager to let him go. He had class on the opposite side of campus; there was no way he could walk her to Health without being late. She knew it was nothing personal, but she still dreaded the goodbye.

"Where do you think you're going?" he asked as she began to pull out of his grasp. Bella opened her mouth to respond, but Edward cut her off. "I'm walking you to class; screw being late. Jefferson will understand." Mr Jefferson was the new government teacher. Mr Jenkins had gone postal a few weeks previously; he pulled a sword out of his cane after a particularly inane comment by Tyler Crowley and began brandishing it toward the class. Alice had been the one to report the incident to the principal. Needless to say, Mr Jefferson had taken over immediately.

Bella felt her face flame up like a Presto log. Making her blush was beginning to seem like his most efficient talent. "If you really want to." She tried, she really did, to keep the excitement out of her voice. But, as usual, her poor acting skills were unimaginably insufficient. Edward smiled excitedly back at her, snatching her books from her arms and her bag from her shoulder. "What are you doing?" she asked incredulously.

"Mom taught me right," he said simply. He just shrugged and took off toward the Health and Personal Fitness Building without her, leaving her just standing there and staring in disbelief. "Are you coming, Bells?"

She snapped out of her stupor and followed her joyously.

* * *

Bella simply didn't understand her own logic sometimes. She absolutely detested shopping; she though it was pointless and something only for the upper-class to enjoy. She was much more comfortable going into a store, rushing to pick something out, guessing at the size, and hauling ass out as soon as she could.

This was why she couldn't figure out why on Earth she agreed to go dress shopping with Alice and Esme Cullen.

Esme Cullen was like the mother Bella never had, but always wanted. She was so kind, and had adopted Bella as a daughter. Esme had known Jasper for a few years and already loved him as a son, but the night she'd moved in was the first time she had ever met Bella. Bella was afraid that things would be awkward but Esme had jumped in with two feet, giving her a warm hug and offering to make her a cup of hot tea. It had shocked Bella so much that she actually said yes, despite her fiercely independent tendencies.

However, it hadn't taken long to figure out that Esme was _exactly_ like her niece. Esme loved shopping almost as much as Alice, and it scared Bella to no end. The Cullens were absolutely loaded; Bella had no doubt that everything they looked at on their "fabulous" shopping trip would be ridiculously expensive. Despite Bella's quick adoration for the benevolent woman, she would never be able to let Esme buy her a dress that cost more than Bella had in her college fund when she would only be wearing it once.

"Ready Bella?" Alice asked excitedly, bouncing up and down on the edge of her bed. Bella merely rolled her eyes and finished pulling on her shoes. She had refused to let the pixie dress her today; it was compensation for what she knew was going to result in the purchase of something dramatically overpriced. "Be a good sport, Bells; we're going to make you hot for Edward."

Bella laughed freely, standing up. "I doubt Esme wants to make me "hot" for her own son."

"I dunno…" Alice trailed off conspiratorially, arching her eyebrows. Bella merely rolled her eyes and began walking down the stairs. Alice trailed behind her, grinning like a fool. "Esme agrees with me. We both think you guys are absolutely perfect for each other.

Bella flushed from the tips of her fingers all the way to her roots. Alice seemed to be better at making her blush than her cousin, something Bella never expected. "Whatever, Alice. I highly doubt that. What mother –"

"Alice! Bella!" Esme chirped when they came into view. She waved the two teenagers to her side eagerly. "Ready, girls?" Esme was almost as excited as Alice to go shopping. _I guess it really does run in the family._ Bella mused, smiling what she hoped looked like genuine enthusiasm for such a mundane and menial task. "Oh, I've been looking forward to this for a week! I've probably driven everyone in the office crazy with my constant chatter. We finally finished with the Denali house yesterday, so I'm all yours for the entire weekend!"

Bella smiled warmly this time. She really did adore Esme; she shared her niece's passion for design, but whereas Alice loved clothing and fashion, Esme was exceptionally gifted with interior design. Bella willingly piled into Esme's car of choice: a silvery-blue Bug. It didn't seem very roomy from the outside, but everyone actually did have their own leg space.

The hour-long drive to the nearest fashion outlet was actually a lot closer to pleasure than to torture. The three seemed to get along famously, with Alice and Bella gently razzing Esme about the fact that she and her husband, Carlisle, were high school sweethearts and Esme knocking the two girls about their respective "men."

"So, Bella, are you excited to go with Edward?" Esme asked slyly, glancing the rearview mirror to gauge the brunette's reaction. As usual, Bella blushed brightly.

"I'm… pretty happy that he protected me. I don't think I could've dealt with hanging out with Jacob Black for three hours."

"Oh Bella, get over yourself," Alice rolled her eyes. "Everyone knows you're head-over-heels for him."

"Alice!" she hissed, shooting her eyes in the direction of Esme, who was, at present, smiling like the cat who swallowed the canary.

"Oh, don't worry, dear; I've known for a while. I'm personally very happy that the girl my son is going to end up with has a smart head on her shoulders."

**So, how was it? Besides long, and probably very rushed. I wanted to get this up quickly because, again, you guys are absolutely awesome. And make my world.  
But, I did lie. I meant to put both parents in this, but only successfully included Esme. Next chapter, I promise Carlisle is there.**

**Thanks to my FABULOUS reviewers:  
DarkAngelRakell: ****Not QUITE finished with those two. =) Thanks for the review.  
****Petaloutha: ****Thank you! I hope this was soon enough for you! Thanks for the review.  
****ShelbieJames: ****There is a "good" reason, I promise! All in good time. Thanks for the review.  
****pierce me through with sadness: ****I promise, Edward is not evil and horrible to her. There's a reason, promise! Thanks for the review.  
****Peach Blossum: ****Haha, I'm glad it's worth it! Thanks for the review.  
****BelleDuJour: ****I love possessive Edward too. Actually, I just love Edward period, haha. Thanks for the review.  
****Girlz-Rule:**** I like your name. We do indeed rule. I hope this was soon enough! Thanks for the review.  
****Vi0lentSerenity:**** Thank you for coming back! I hope this wasn't too long of a wait. Thanks for the review.**


	7. Chapter Six: Homecoming

**Greetings from the road! I'm sorry it took me so long to update. I literally just got back in my home state as I was typing that, haha. But anyway, here it is! I've been feeling rather mushy lately, and it really shows in this chapter. I hope you enjoy it!  
-irishphoenix615**

Saturday was a very hurried, scrambled day in the Cullen household. Carlisle had been given the afternoon off after almost an entire week of begging. Esme had devoted the entire weekend to the kids, and she was beginning to drive Jasper and Edward bonkers. She left the girls alone only because she knew that Alice would make sure Bella got dressed "properly." Jasper and Edward, on the other hand, she trusted about as far as she could throw them.

"Edward, for the love of God, comb your hair!" Bella giggled impishly as she heard yet another fight begin over Edward's "stylistically" messy hair. Alice, wielding a curling iron and a round brush, scowled heavily as her victim's head bobbled with mirth.

"Isabella," she growled, exasperated; Bella gave a small grin of victory. "If you don't want to get burned, I suggest you quit moving around like a dog on a dashboard." She sighed furiously, glaring at the back of Bella's head. Bella could feel the anger rolling off of the other girl in waves, and stopped bobbing.

To sober herself, she simply glanced over at the huge bed, where the dress Alice and Esme had picked out for her lay, ready and waiting. It was beautiful, and Bella was extremely thankful for it, but she didn't think she would be very comfortable in it. It was just a simple black dress with a simple wide blue stripe down the stripe down the front, but she didn't think she'd be comfortable for four hours in it. She wrinkled her nose, one of the only expressions of uncertainty she still had available, and sighed deeply. Alice whacked her on the shoulder with the round brush.

"Hush up," she chided softly. Bella merely rolled her eyes and stood up. "Wait a minute! I wasn't done! Bella, come back!" she cried as Bella picked up the dress.

"Alice," she whispered, staring at the beautifully silky dress. "I dunno if I can go. I… this… I can't."

"Isabella Marie Swan." Alice crossed to the bed, took the taller girl by the shoulders, and shook her slightly. "You are going to Homecoming, with Edward, and you're going to enjoy yourself. He is going to barely be able to control himself, and you're going to love every minute of it. I am going to come away from this night dating your brother, and you will be the one and only girlfriend of Edward Cullen." Bella stared in shock; the tiny pixie seemed so sure of herself. But Bella had learned relatively quickly that whenever Alice was that sure, the fates usually made sure she got her way.

"We're leaving in thirty minutes," Jasper huffed as he passed Bella's room. Alice froze, staring at his bare chest beneath the towel he had draped around his neck. Bella could've died laughing; leave it to Alice to ogle openly without caring. "Be ready, or else. I don't want to give Esme any opportunity to "fix" my tie."

"What tie?" Bella asked, amused. Flecks of drool were beginning to appear around Alice's mouth. "And for God's sake, Jazz, put on a shirt. Nobody wants to see all that flub hanging out."

"Speak for yourself, Bells," Alice whispered, not really caring whether or not Jasper heard. _Judging by the chuckle, he definitely did._ "We'll be ready, Jazz. Thanks a million." She just smiled brilliantly, causing Jasper to grin sheepishly.

"Nice job, Als. Could you have been any more obvious?" she teased. Alice simply rolled her eyes and beckoned to the chair, motioning for Bella to sit. She gave in reluctantly, plopping down with an exaggerated _humph_. Alice smiled happily before attacking her with the contents of her makeup bag. Bella just closed her eyes, not wanting to see the damage.

"Silly Bella," Alice chuckled amusedly. "I'm not killing you. You actually look utterly fantastic." Reluctantly, Bella peeked through her eyelashes. She hated to admit it, but Alice was right; she looked pretty good. Nothing compared to her minute companion, but great compared to how she usually looked.

"She's right, Bella," said a quiet voice behind them. Bella jumped and spun around to face a smiling Carlisle Cullen. She flushed a deep red.

"T-thank you, Mr Cullen," she stammered.

Carlisle chortled deeply and shook his head. "Please, call me Carlisle." He smiled warmly at her, his eerie golden-Cullen eyes glowing; Bella couldn't help but trust him. "You've lived here for over a month. You're family now. Family doesn't bother with all of those stuffy formalities." His eyes swept between Bella and Alice and twinkled merrily. "Nice touch with the dresses, Alice. You girls match your dates."

"Thank you, Carlisle," Alice beamed at him, handing Bella a pair of dangerously high black heels. "Esme helped me with colors." Carlisle opened his mouth to respond, but was interrupted by his wife.

"Have fun tonight girls! Keep the boys in line, please," Esme trilled as she dashed in, nodding at them in appreciation. "Oh Carlisle, aren't they beautiful? Remember our senior Homecoming? It was a Mardi Gras theme… Oh, it was so romantic!" She sniffed and wiped a tear away from her eye, recalling the memories. "We have to get pictures! Honey, stand between the girls… Good!"

"Mom, stop fussing." Bella's jaw nearly dropped as she blinked the flash spots out of her eyes furiously so she could get a second look at what she'd seen a split second before being blinded.

Jasper and Edward were dressed in identical black dress shirts and pants. Jasper's tie was a deep red, perfectly matching Alice's beautiful scarlet silk dress. The pair look classic together, but Bella only had eyes for Edward.

The stark black of his shirt contrasted magnificently with the paleness of his snowy skin. The bright blue of his tie not only brought out his beautiful caramel eyes, but it perfectly matched the brilliant blue stripe down the front of her dress. He looked nervous, something Bella never thought she'd see. He locked eyes with her then; his jaw about hit the floor. "Wow Bella, you look wonderful. Alice did a great job."

Bella blushed deeply and waited for Alice's usual scathing retort, the one she used when she realized the Bella wasn't going to say anything, but a quick glance to her right quashed that hope: Alice and Jasper were staring at each other, mouths flopping uselessly. _Aw, how romantic,_ she thought sarcastically, a little panicked that she was actually expected to hold a conversation with Edward on her own, when he looked that damn good. "You look really great too," she mumbled shyly, averting her eyes. Not before she'd caught his brilliant smile, however. She stared at the floor, completely dazzled.

"Mom, we have to go now," Edward gently pried his mother away from Jasper and Alice, trying to create an opening for them to leave.

"Just one more picture!" Esme cried, pushing the four teenagers together. "Just one group picture, then I'll let you get on. Please Edward, don't deny your mother the only chance she'll have for a very long time to get pictures of her only son and her favorite niece all dressed up with the people they –"

Edward hastily cut her off, "Fine! One picture," and draped his arm around Bella's waist. His touch erupted a fire of chill bumps across her skin. Esme beamed happily and pushed Alice next to Bella. The two girls exchanged glances, looked at the other's date, then looked back at each other. Jasper was in the same position as Edward, but he and Alice looked a lot more comfortable than Bella felt. She and Alice just burst out laughing.

_Maybe Alice was right,_ Bella thought to herself as she was once again rendered sightless by Esme's flash. _Maybe we really are meant to be._

* * *

It took twenty minutes to get to Forks High from the Cullen house. Incidentally, that's how long it took for the butterflies in Bella's stomach to metamorphose into large fruit bats. She was so nervous, she didn't think she'd be able to stand. She stumbled a little as she got out of the car, but, as usual, Edward was right there to catch her.

"Oh Bella," Alice laughed, smiling at her from her spot in Jasper's arm. "Can't you at least try to keep upright tonight?" she teased. Bella would've fired something back, but she realized that Edward was still holding on to her.

"Don't tease her, Alice," he chided. Bella nearly fainted; his breath was right at her earlobe. "She's just unsteady. It was your brilliant idea to give her heels." Alice just rolled her eyes and swept into the building with Jasper.

"Thanks for saving my life… again," Bella said gratefully. Edward just smiled and pulled her into a hug.

"No problem, Bells," he laughed into her hair. "We can't have you breaking anything tonight, can we?"

He took her hand and began walking toward the door. Bella had no choice but to follow. _No going back now, Bella. Hope you're ready to make a fool out of yourself._ They entered the "Commons," which was just a fancy name for cafeteria, through the huge metal double doors, neither quite sure of what to expect. Bella looked around frantically for Alice and Jasper; she'd made Alice promise to stay close. Of course, the tiny girl was nowhere to be found.

"Let's dance!" he yelled over the music, pulling her into his arms. Bella froze in fear.

"I-I'm not the best dancer in the world," she yelled back. "I don't want to hurt you."

He gave her a look of disbelief and just pulled her closer. "Bella, don't worry, I'm not going to let you get hurt." He picked her up gently and placed her feet on top of his so he was doing all the work. "There. A risk-free approach."

Bella would've been fine with these arrangements had the song not changed at that exact moment. The previous song had been moderately fast. Something Edward had to concentrate on to keep up with. This one, however, was something slow for couples to dance to. She met his gaze, panicked, and found something that looked a lot like determination and a little like fear. The fear she recognized immediately; she'd had that emotion ever since she'd first met him. The determination threw her for a loop, however. He gently wound his arms around her waist, and she despised her own arms as they snaked around his neck of their own accord. He looked pleasantly surprised.

"Bella," he whispered, leaning down so he could talk to her without screaming. "I wasn't kidding earlier; you look absolutely beautiful. Every single guy in this room is staring at you." He laughed quietly, making Bella turn her head so she could look him in the eye. "Black looks like he's going to come over here and murder me. Like he could."

"Don't provoke him," Bella whispered, unable to break away from Edward's intense gaze. "Don't. I don't want you getting hurt. Even if you think you could take him."

He stared at her, mouth slightly slack, for a few seconds before mumbling to himself. It was too quiet for Bella to be sure, but she would've sworn it sounded like 'fuck it.' "Doesn't really matter now, I won."

"Won?" she asked, feeling her heart begin to break.

"Yeah, I won," he mumbled, pressing his forehead against hers. "I'm the one dancing with the most beautiful girl I've ever seen."

Bella was completely blindsided. She was so focused on trying to process his comment that she didn't even notice he was moving until he pressed his lips gently against hers.

It was everything she'd ever imagined and more. His lips were soft against hers, almost loving, and she felt herself begin to warm up and kiss him back. They stayed that way, just standing there kissing softly, until someone cleared their throat behind them.

"Um, Bella, Edward, I get that you're in love, but can you _please_ cut it out? It's making me sick," Alice said, beaming brightly at Bella, walking up to them. Bella blushed brightly.

_Did Edward Cullen seriously just kiss me?_

**Well, how was it? Review and tell me! Reviews make me happy… especially since I really didn't want to come home. Haha. But oh well. I swear it won't take me that long again, I know it's annoying when people don't update for a long time. But here it is! Review and tell me your opinion.  
-irishphoenix615**

**Thanks to my reviewers:  
ShelbieJames: Haha, I'm glad you like it so much. Thanks for the review.  
Mediana: There is a reason for it, I promise! I hope you liked this homecoming.  
BelleDuJour: I swoon every time I write him. And I dunno, maybe. =) [That means yes] I FINALLY saw the movie about two days ago… I hate being busy. Thanks for the review.  
Blue-Eyed Chica: I'm glad you love it! Thanks for the review.  
Girlz-Rule: Sorry it took so long! Thanks for the review.  
DarkAngelRakell: He does indeed. You get to meet her in a few chapters. You may or may not be expecting her, so be prepared! Thanks for the review.**


	8. Chapter Seven: Romantic Suffocation

**Greetings, everyone. This is… not one of my favorite chapters. Please excuse any errors; I wrote this on a school laptop and it's… pretty outdated. If I don't update for any extended length of time (over a week), check my profile. I'll more than likely have something up there.  
Thank you for putting up with (a) my horrible errors, (b) my crunched schedule, and (c) my rambling!  
irishphoenix615**

Bella spent the rest of the weekend with Alice, dissecting every second of Homecoming. Jasper, of course, had been exceptionally debonair the entire time. According to Alice, he hadn't let her go the entire night, always kissing and touching her.

"And this morning," she jabbered on, hardly able to stay still, "he made me breakfast in bed! Can you believe it?! Bells, he's so sweet."

It took Bella every single ounce of self-control not to launch across the room and strangle her new best friend. She was absolutely thrilled for Alice, but she really wasn't in the mood to hear about a love-filled relationship when she felt so shitty about her own relationship with Edward.

Homecoming had been a dream for Bella. Edward had been with her all night, always hugging and kissing and complimenting. She had been sure that, by the end of the night, Alice's prophecy would've come true. She was wrong. They'd made it back to the house, watched some silly romantic comedy (it had been Alice's choice), and fallen asleep in front of the huge television in the Cullens' living room.

Morning had come and gone. Not even a peep out of Edward. Bella had sulked around until Alice had hurtled herself through the door to announce her good news. She was still sulking, of course, but now she at least had to pretend to be excited.

Until, of course, there was a loud boom from down the hall, in Edward's room.

"Oh no," Alice whispered, golden eyes locking on Bella and widening. "I _told_ him to let it go!"

"What?" Bella asked, already hurrying down to Edward's room. Alice just sighed, hot on her heels, and shook her head. Bella flung open Edward's door and gasped at what she saw.

Jasper had Edward pinned against the wall, one hand placed against his chest, holding him in place, and the other closed around his throat. Bella felt a sharp jab in the gut; she was across the room and trying to pull her brother off of Edward in half a second.

"Jasper Swan!" she screamed, tearing at his shoulders. He just shrugged her off, fury written all over his face. "What the fuck do you think you're doing?! Get off of him! What did he do to you?!"

"Fuck off, Isabella," he said coldly, still staring into Edward's eyes with hatred. "Stay out of this. This is-"

"Absolutely ridiculous!" Bella yelled, slapping him in the cheek. He whirled, keeping the hand on Edward's throat. "He's turning blue, Jasper! Get your hands off him!"

"Jasper," Alice whispered quietly, making him jump slightly. "Jazz, what is this about?"

Jasper was breathing heavily, his grip slightly slackened on the other boy's throat. "I told him to stay away from her. He's my best fucking friend; how could he try to hook up with my sister?" His eyes once again returned to Edward's face, which was beginning to return to its normal coloring. "I know what guys like him want. He's not getting it from my sister."

"Jazz," Edward whispered, his voice strained. His face flamed as he locked eyes with Bella. She sincerely hoped that her eyes were reflecting everyone ounce of hatred she was feeling. _Douchebag. Of __**course**__ that's all he wants! Why didn't I see it before?! There was absolutely no way a perfect guy like him could every possibly want anything else from a silly little love-struck girl like me. Stupid, stupid, stupid! _"You know me better than that. You know that I never bother with a girl, never bother taking her out and trying to show her a good time, if I just want sex." Edward cleared his throat and gently walked out of Jasper's grasp. He gently loped over to stand in front of Bella; she could see her brother clench and unclench his fists several times. "I tried to keep this to myself… I knew you'd be upset. But even Alice began to see that I was falling for her. I've always liked her, ever since I moved here, but, out of loyalty to you, I just kept quiet. But now I know."

"Edward," Jasper growled, clearly not liking his friend's close proximity to his sister.

"Let me finish, Jazz," he chastised, reaching out to take Bella's hand. "Jasper, I love your sister. I was able to play it off as just polite, older-brother-like love. Up until last night. Last night was… absolutely perfect. Bella," he whispered, golden honey colliding with Godiva chocolate. "Bella, I know that I probably fucked things up by just letting you go after last night. But I was scared. I was scared you'd laugh in my face. I was scared that your brother would go postal and kill one or both of us. But mostly, I was scared of most was that someone as utterly perfect as you would never be interested in someone like me."

"That's ridiculous," Bella whispered back, blushing furiously. "You have our roles mixed up, Edward."

"You're insane, Bells," he chuckled. Bella risked a glance over his shoulder, catching sight of Alice's enormous grin and Jasper's clenched jaw. She noticed that her brother was beginning to relax, but that could've been because Alice was massaging his shoulders. "Bella, will you be with me?"

It was so quiet that she nearly missed it. She had to do a double take, to observe his flaming cheeks and nervous eyes, to even believe it. "Of course," she choked out. Edward's embarrassed gaze turned into one of utter elation as he took her into his arms.

"That's enough," Jasper snapped from behind them. Bella couldn't see him (her head was buried in Edward's chest) but she heard the unmistakable smack of skin on cloth. She giggled, knowing that Alice had just smacked him.

* * *

One thing Bella could always count on was how gossipy high school girls were. Edward and Bella hadn't had to do anything but walk into the school building holding hands for the news that they were exclusive to be spread around the school by noon. She had never been paid nearly as much attention in her entire life as she had that day. Girls were glaring at her, and boys were staring at her curiously.

"Well, Swan, I guess you really found your man." Bella nearly jumped out of her skin. She whirled around, catching her gym uniform on the bleachers, and came face-to-face with Jacob Black. His grin was dripping with malice. "I hope you're happy."

"Bella!" a tinkling voice called behind her. She watched Jacob's face change from haughtily angry to unimaginably shocked as Renesmee danced up. "You still need a partner?" she asked; bravely, Bella thought. She nodded, happy to be spared from Jacob.

"Hey, Nes, this is Jacob Black. Jacob, this is Renesmee Hale."

Bella never would've predicted what happened as soon as she stepped out from between them. Their eyes locked. Jacob's mouth hung open and Renesmee's cheeks flamed.

_That must've been what Edward and I looked like at the dance,_ she thought gleefully. In those two seconds, she formed a basic plan in her head. _This should be fun, _she grinned, imagining several different ways to get her locker partner and her undeniably annoying acquaintance to fall for each other. _And actually do something about it._

**I really hate this chapter. But it's sadly the best edition I have. I swear they'll never be like this again. But I wanted to update, and didn't have time to rewrite it. Again, written on a school laptop, so it's bound to be junky.  
Thank you for putting up with me.  
-irishphoenix615**

**Thanks to my reviewers:  
Blue-Eyed Chica: Alice is a favorite of mine. Thanks for the review!  
hoobastank22: Haha, it'll all work out. Thanks for the review!  
Vi0lentSerenity: She really can be. But that's why we all love her. Thanks for the review!  
ShelbieJames: Haha, if you think it's necessary, I'll rewrite it just for you. Thanks for the review.  
BelleDuJour: There's nothing wrong with being obsessed with Twilight. I would know. =) Thanks for the review.  
Petaloutha: All in good time. Thanks for the review!**


	9. Chatper Eight: The Devil's Angel

**Hello there. I'm a bad, bad person, I know. I tried to post on Sunday, but I didn't have the time. I don't technically have the time now, but I'm sick of cramming. It's finals week (oh, joy). I'm really hoping that my writing career takes off, because I'm definitely about to fail. (Thank you for listening to my rant; I'm sort of panicking now) Anyway, this was typed on a school laptop, so please excuse any strange grammatical errors.  
-irishphoenix615**

It took Bella the rest of the term to coerce Jacob into asking Renesmee out. Despite his rough, tough, asshole exterior, he was surprisingly shy when it came to Bella's benevolent locker partner. He was convinced that he'd simply pissed Bella off, and she wanted to see him embarrassed. He finally started believing her after "spying" on a conversation between the two girls.

Edward was an entirely different person after he realized that Jacob no longer cared about Bella in a romantic sort of way. He'd even invited Jacob and Renesmee to the Christmas party the Cullens were hosting the Saturday after finals. It threw her for a loop that Friday, when Bella was making the elegant place cards for the dinner.

"We need two more, Bells," he told her gently, smiling and kissing the tip of her nose lightly. "Jacob and Ness are coming."

"Jacob _Black_?" she asked incredulously as her face flamed from his kiss.

Edward's smile spread, making Bella's heart stop. "That's the one. I invited them on Monday…. They accepted yesterday. Is that a problem?" Bella simply shook her head, staring in disbelief. "Good. They won't take away from the general mood of the party, I promise." He pulled the pen out of her hands and wrapped his arms around her lovingly. She melted, until she saw the look of guilt on his face.

"Edward…" she mumbled into his chest.

"Erm, Bella," he said nervously, pulling her back slightly. She gave him a penetrating stare, waiting for him to continue. "I know you made me promise not to get you anything for Christmas, but…"

"Edward!" she yelped, pushing herself completely away from him. She glared into his eyes. She'd imposed the 'no gifts' rule a week ago, after a near-panic attack when she overheard Alice and Edward discussing what items they needed to buy. Bella had burst in just moments shy of Edward announcing his plans for her gift, begging and pleading for there to be no gift-giving between them. She had gifts for Carlisle and Esme, of course, but she knew that anything Edward would get her would be overly expensive and perfect. She had never been able to shop for guys, and didn't have the money to get him a truly great present. She didn't want to be caught in the, 'I got him a gift card, he got me a diamond necklace' predicament. _Not that he'd ever get me a diamond necklace,_ Bella amended in her head. "I thought we agreed! You promised."

He grimaced; you'd have thought Bella punched him directly in the stomach. "I know I did, love, but… I saw it, and it was just so… you. Please don't be mad at me; you don't have to get me anything. I just wanted something to give you."

_How the hell did I manage to make him like me?_ She wondered. "Edward. Stop it. Can't you just… return it?" she asked hopefully. "It's not that I don't trust your judgment of what I'd like, I just…"

"What is it?" He pulled her close again. She closed her eyes and breathed in his scent: body wash, aftershave, and a smell that was something that was just _Edward_. Bella wanted to bottle it up and make an air freshener for her room out of it. "Why are you so against gifts, sweetheart? I asked Jazz about it; he told me you used to love Christmas. Last year you were even an elf at the store in town. What is it about this Christmas?"

Bella felt her knees give out right then. The tone of his voice, concerned and caring, tugged fiercely at her heartstrings and made her knees give out. "It… I just…" she could barely remember what they were talking about, let alone what she was about to say. Suddenly, Alice began swearing, ranting about how she'd forgotten to get Edward a present, and it all came crashing back. "I don't… have...." Realization shone on his face. He shook his head, chuckling; she wasn't sure if she should be offended or relieved that she hadn't had to stumble through an explanation.

"Silly Bella," he whispered, kissing her forehead. "I don't care what it costs. I don't come off that materialistic, do I?" he teased. She tried to shake her head, but she couldn't remember how to breathe, let alone move. "Even if we hadn't called off the present exchange part, I would've loved whatever you'd gotten me. And I don't want you to feel obliged to rush out and get me something." She glanced up as she heard his voice turn stern. "I would've bought this for you anyway, holidays or not."

Bella fought against the prickling in her eyes, but she had never been good at pretending. He brushed away the tears streaming down her cheeks, and she tried to think of what good she could have possibly done in her life to deserve him. She was drawing a blank, and it was beginning to make her head hurt. She simply leaned into his chest and allowed him to wrap his arms around her. She tilted her head up and smiled at him, letting him know she wasn't angry. He leaned down and gently brushed his lips against hers. She was caught up in the moment, just loving the feeling of being with him, until a slight cough from behind her woke her up. She jumped; Bella had never heard this particular cough before.

"Sorry to interrupt."

Music. That's all Bella could think of to compare the beautiful, tinkling sound of the voice. Something was off, though. The moment Edward had lifted his head from hers, Bella knew something was wrong. He had frozen, arms locking even more securely around her. It took her a few moments before she could manage it, but eventually she gathered the courage to turn around and face the music.

Bella could've wept with despair. The girl (_woman,_ she corrected herself with a sob) was drop-dead gorgeous. She looked more like an angel than a human with her long, golden-blonde hair and sparkling blue eyes. She was the type of woman who could get whatever she wanted.

And at the moment, she look like she wanted nothing but to be exactly where Bella was.

"Rose!" Edward finally choked out. Bella very nearly gave it up as a lost cause when she heard just how affected he was by her presence. He gave himself a little shake, and Bella could _see_ the fog clear from his eyes. "Rosalie, this is my girlfriend Bella. Bells, this is my… friend, Rose."

Bella probably would've gone on standing there, pretending to be okay with the unbearably awkward situation had he not paused before 'friend.' Rose, devil's angel that she was, was staring at her curiously now, and she couldn't take it anymore. "I-I told Alice I'd help her with the food," she whispered before slipping out of Edward's grasp and practically sprinting into the kitchen. She barely made it out of the room before the tears she'd been battling won out. They were in a freefall by the time Alice turned around.

"Bella! Ohmigod, what happened?!" Alice was at her side in an instant. For once, Bella was extremely relieved that she could practically answer her own questions. "What did he do to you? That jackass! Did he break up with you? No; he cared too much about you. Did he… Oh my god! Did he try to make you have sex with him?"

"No!" Bella's reaction was instantaneous and violent. "No! Not that. It's just… Alice, who is Rosalie?"

Any hope Bella'd had was gone; the look on Alice's face said everything she needed to know. It was all she could do to stay conscious as Alice announced, "Girl talk, now!" and hauled her by the wrist up to her room.

* * *

"What brought up Rosalie?"

Alice plopped down on her oversized plush chair across from Bella. She looked like a petite Buddha, the epitome of Zen. Bella, on the other hand, was a sobbing, shaking mess. She could barely breathe, let alone talk. But she knew that Alice couldn't decipher blubbers and moans of pain. _Suck it __**up**__, Swan! Take it like a woman!_ She took a deep, shuddering breath, filling up her sad little lungs, and braced herself.

"She's here," was all she managed to choke out before Alice gasped. The sharp intake of breath was enough to suck everything in the room a few inches closer to her chair. "She's a fucking goddess, Ali. Who is she?"

"Edward's ex."

There was something in her tone that did quite a number to Bella's self-confidence. Alice seemed to realize that her words hadn't help, so she instantly launched into a story. "He met her when we were still living in Canada. She was going to college; a sophomore. He was a junior then. Aunt Esme told him not to get involved… But he did anyway. I was never sure why she was interested in him, but I'm pretty sure it had to do with his… nether regions. Anyway, she got into drinking and drugs, and he was _such_ a douchebag. But then… she left. She dropped out of college and just took off. There were rumors of pregnancy, but he _swore_ he was being careful."

"She didn't look like she'd had a baby," Bella muttered, petulant. "Doesn't matter anyway. Baby or no baby, who the hell would choose me over her? I'll be gone in a week."

"No, you won't." Bella nearly got whiplash trying to get her head up fast enough to stare. Alice was just so… sure. "Trust me, Bells, he cares about you more than he's ever cared about her."

"How can you be so sure?" she whispered, strangled.

"I'm Alice." She just shrugged. "I'm omniscient."

**Well, how was it? I was originally going to squash this and the next chapter together, but it made more sense to do it this way. How do you guys like Rosalie?  
-irishphoenix615**

**Thanks to my reviewers:  
Girlz-Rule: Sorry it wasn't that quick! Thanks for the review.  
Vi0lentSerenity: It happens… I promise. I love Jasper too, although he's not in this one. Thanks for the review. Sorry it wasn't soon. Thanks for the review.  
hellena8989: I'm glad it was cute, I wasn't sure if it was good. Thanks for the review.  
Petaloutha: They both will be, but Emmett won't be here for a while. Thanks for the review.  
ShelbieJames: Hahaha, well, I'm glad you're in love with (a) my story and (b) Edward. I'm in love with him too. Thanks for the review.  
Blue-Eyed Chica: Most older brothers are a bit hypocritical when it comes to their best friends and little sisters; that part was partially based on real life. Thanks for the review!**


	10. Chapter Nine: The Calm Before The Storm

**Oh my, it's been way too long! I'm so sorry. There is no dialogue in this chapter, until the very end, on purpose. It's all supposed to be about how Bella sees her surroundings, and dialogue gets in the way. It's been a hectic three weeks, from family vacations to illnesses to… well, just about anything that could keep me away from writing. I've been working on this for a while, and it just… never quite clicked.  
But! I'll let you decide the overall worth of this chapter. I am so sorry that it took so long. I never wanted to wait this long, and I'm going to try extremely hard to never wait this long again.  
-irishphoenix615**

Rosalie was becoming a permanent fixture in the Cullen household. She was there for the Christmas party, something Bella found highly annoying. Esme seemed almost as bothered by her presence as Bella was. But, knowing that she couldn't say anything without seeming rude, she just sat around and sulked, examining the various couples who had showed up for the party.

Carlisle had invited a few of his colleagues from the hospital, and they were, naturally, very calm and very, very drunk. They were all slurring their words and laughing boisterously, giving Bella a slight headache. Jacob and Renesmee were such a cute couple, with the shy way that they were holding hands and smiling hesitantly at each other. He'd turned into quite a gentleman, despite her first impressions of him. He treated Ness how she deserved to be treated.

Jasper and Alice made Bella laugh. Jazz was completely caught up in the whirlwind that was Alice. She was hyper, bouncing from group to group, dazzling her uncle's colleagues, and Jasper just simply followed. It was a trait Bella wasn't used to seeing in her older brother; usually he had to be in the spot light. However, there he was, trailing the manic little pixie with a look of shear adoration in his eyes.

Edward wasn't with her, but he wasn't with Rosalie either. He was being introduced to some important people by his father; he was eager for his son to follow in his footsteps and become a doctor. Edward simply didn't have the heart to tell him that he just wasn't interested in medicine. He really wanted to go into the field of music. Bella often teased him that he loved his piano more than he liked her. He would always grumble in her direction and retort that his piano never made jokes about him.

Bella felt like a creepy stalker, just sitting there watching him, but he was absolutely breathtaking. She had never seen someone with his exact bronze hair, or his intense golden eyes. They were glittering in the dim light of the foyer, where the party was moved after the huge dinner, and every time he would glance over at her and smile, his eyes would shine. He often dazzled the male doctors' wives with his mind-blowing crooked smile. They would giggle and twitter, sipping their flukes of champagne and blinking their eyes at him in what they thought was a flirtatious way. He would smile charmingly at them and move on to the next group.

She couldn't understand it. He could have whatever he wanted in life with just a smile and a few choice words. All he had to do was unleash that infamous crooked grin, and everyone who was looking was turned to mush, even men. Bella had seen him use that devastating smile on a few of the male doctors around. Of course, he was naturally inclined to flash it at their wives, but occasionally the husbands were caught up in the glow as well. The only people who seemed to be immune to it were his family, and Jasper.

All of a sudden, she caught sight of Rosalie, chatting it up with one of the guys from the football team. Mike, Bella thought she remembered Edward calling him. He was big, with moderately muscular arms and the typical All-American looks: blonde hair, blue eyes, and a cute boyish grin. He was obviously dazzled by the beautiful blonde bombshell, but was pulling it off quite well, in Bella's opinion. He had her laughing at his undeniably lame jokes, at least.

The kids from school weren't so bad, actually. There were a few left, mainly a girl named Lauren and her little groupies, but everyone was pretty okay with her. Many people had automatically assumed that she was new, something that had amused Jasper immensely. Angela was a surprisingly sweet girl. It turned out that she had actually never been interested in dating Edward, and was really happy for the both of them. After a few weeks of being close acquaintances, Angela had confided in her that she was crushing on a sweet, shy boy named Ben. Both of them had come to the party, not together, but still remained in close proximity.

Ben was cute, and completely perfect for Angela, in Bella's opinion. He loved art, and was an amazing artist. He was very soft-spoken, and extremely intelligent. He and Angela had been speaking almost the entire evening. Bella had even managed to shuffle the place cards at the table very discreetly so that they were sitting next to each other. Angela seemed to notice, and shot her a grateful smile. Bella grinned back and nodded slightly at Ben, making Angela blush. Edward caught that small exchange and just chuckled.

Dinner wasn't nearly as awkward as she'd imagined. Bella sat next to Edward, with Alice on her other side. For the first time in her entire life, she felt surrounded by people who loved her. She and Alice had become almost like twins; they didn't even need to share words in order to communicate. Halfway through the main course, Jazz managed to drop his fork and make a loud clanging noise that silenced the entire room. Alice shot her a look, all raised eyebrows and rolling eyes. Bella instinctively raised her shoulders and pulled up the left side of her mouth in a kind of grimace to say, _boys will be boys._

Always in the back of Bella's mind, however, was the nagging reminder that Edward had gotten her a Christmas present. Alice had confided secretly that she would love it, but she was instinctively afraid. If it were too flashy or pricey, she would feel obliged to return his thoughtfulness with some of her own. She had laid awake the night before, tossing and turning, trying to come up with something creative to show him exactly how much she cared without seeming like a whore.

Bella had found, after several tedious hours with Alice trying to unravel both boys, that Edward was no stranger to the female anatomy. She wouldn't say much, claiming that Edward had made her swear that she wouldn't say anything to Bella about his past, but she did warn her to be careful around him.

However, she managed to push it all aside and be the perfect, smiling girlfriend he often said she was as he began to introduce her to the doctors he had spoken to earlier in the night. After a full, delicious meal, she was feeling rather content to just stand next to him and be showcased. A few of them asked her questions about her schooling, and what field she was interested in, and several of the more intuitive ones had asked her to try and convince Edward to go into medicine. To those, she simply smiled and promised to try. She was having a much better time than she had before dinner by Edward's side, and she was almost able to fool herself into believing the daydreams that kept popping into her head about one day hosting their own dinner party in their own home, and instead of introducing her as his girlfriend, Edward would be introducing her as his wife.

Bella had excused herself to go and get another drink (nothing fancy, just Sprite) when she ran smack into Rosalie.

"Oh!" she exclaimed. She couldn't even bring herself to be hostile towards her; she was simply enjoying herself too much.

"Bella, we need to talk."

Somehow, even though those words weren't coming from Edward, they still stirred up that panicky feeling in her stomach and made her feet feel like hundred-pound weights as she let Rosalie lead her into a side room. She had mainly been avoiding any alone conversations with her, trying to keep her paper-thin illusion in place, but the world had taught Bella that when you were least expecting it, and when you were least prepared, things that she avoided like the plague came and bit her square in the ass. Knowing better than to fight it, she simply sat down in one of the two chairs in Rosalie's room of choice, the Cullen family library.

**Good, bad, okay? Review and let me know. I'm going to try as hard as I can to get something else up by Monday night, because I have to go back to school Tuesday, and who knows how much time I'm going to have.  
And yes, Emmett is in this story. Just… not for a little while. A few more chapters.  
Also! If you're interested in The OC, or House, my sister published some things under them. Her penname is thunderrpunk, so if you're interested, check her out.  
Thank you for reading!  
-irishphoenix615****Thanks to my reviewers:  
mamato:**** I won't really be doing anything from Edward's point of view in this story, but if it's well-liked enough, and requested enough, I might write one from his point of view. And, next chapter, some of the more severe of Edward's secrets come out… Thanks for the review!  
****justjennie: ****Thank you for taking the time to review. Even if you don't have a lot of time, it's a nice way to let me know that continuing the story isn't pointless. Thanks for the review!  
****Girlz-Rule: ****I am so sorry it took me three weeks. Like I wrote in the Author's Note, I'm going to try to have the next chapter up within three days. Thanks for the review!  
****Blue-Eyed Chica: ****It really would suck for her, wouldn't it? I just liked the idea of a different twist to them. Thanks for the review!  
****DarkAngelRakell: ****Totally understand, I probably would have too. However, I am not Bella, and I couldn't make her ditch him that soon, so expect some drama in the next chapter. Thanks for the review!**


	11. Chapter Ten: Unwelcome News

**Chapter ten. Wow. Still in shock I made it this far. Sorry this wasn't up when I thought it would be; it was a little harder to write than anticipated. Based on a real conversation.  
Well, I obviously didn't fail my way out of school; I mostly typed this on a school computer. Oh, the joys of having a class where the teacher is gone for the first week.  
Anyway, enough of me. Here's the story.  
-irishphoenix615**

It was nothing like Bella expected. In all the movies she had ever seen, all the books she had ever read, it launched straight into the drama; punching, screaming, hair pulling, the whole nine yards. _That's what's __**supposed**__ to be happening when the gorgeous-beyond-belief ex-girlfriend confronts the plain-and-boring current girlfriend about the boy involved. _But there was nothing happening. After Rosalie had all but dragged her into the room, Bella sat down obediently, eager to listen to whatever the blonde had to say.

She was still waiting.

Rosalie had opened her mouth a few times, like she had finally found a way to start, but just as soon as Bella perked her head up, Blondie clamped her mouth shut again. It was rather like waiting for a substitute to just jump in and start teaching. Tedious. "Rosalie, just spit it out," she snapped. The longer they sat there, staring at each other, the wilder Bella's imagination became. She'd started by thinking that she'd had a baby with Edward, and that she'd like him back so she could create some semblance of a normal life for their kid. _Understandable; sucks for me, but at the very least understandable. _The longer Rosalie waited, however, she started to think that she was going to hear that Rosalie and Edward had been secretly engaged for four years, and now that Rosalie had secured them a place to life, they could finally move back into the Canadian countryside and raise their seven children.

"It's just hard, okay?!" Whatever she'd been expecting, it wasn't that. The pain in Rosalie's voice was very, very real, and it cut Bella down to the bone. She'd never felt as sorry for anyone in her life as she did at that moment. Because whatever Rosalie had been through, whatever Edward had put her through, Bella understood at that moment could never be forgiven. Whether or not by just Rose, or by Bella as well. "You have this idealized image of him; I've seen how he treats you and how you look at him. It's almost sickening, Bella. It's not right. I don't want to be the one to take that away from you."

"Just say it, Rose." Rosalie looked almost as shocked as Bella felt. Sure, she'd been calling her Rose in her head, but saying out loud almost enacted some sort of… verbal truce; a shaky friendship. "Making me imagine and anticipate what you're going to say is worse than coming out and telling me my boyfriend is a bad person."

Bella's words caused a subtle shift in the atmosphere. Rosalie visibly relaxed, although she was still guarded. Bella allowed her shoulders to loosen a little, enough for them to move about two inches away from where she had previously held them at her ears. "I loved him." Bella's shoulders shot back up. "I said 'loved,' Bella, not 'love.' But I was never in love with him, and I never claimed to be. He knew that from the start. I was the cool college chick, someone he could flaunt in front of his friends. He was the convenient…" she trailed off, almost apologetically. "There's no easy way to put this, Bella. He was basically my fuck buddy for a while. I was very obsessed with the rules back then, you see? He was younger than me, and therefore not suitable dating material. The girls I hung out with would have ridiculed me for dating a high school boy. But I wanted to date him so bad. That cousin of his, Alice, knew it the second she looked at me."

"Alice always knows," Bella said with a weak smile. Despite how Rosalie's words cut her to the bone, she knew that she had to keep listening. Cutting her off now, telling her to shut up and go away and stop putting black splotches on her rose-colored glasses, would just create more problems.

Rosalie cracked a small grin, more like a grimace than anything, in return. "Yeah, she does. She took one look at me and knew that I wanted to be with him. He was beautiful; who wouldn't?" _He still is beautiful,_ Bella corrected her silently. She didn't have the heart to say it aloud. "Being around her, meeting his family like any normal girlfriend would, even though they didn't like me at all, pushed me to do the one thing I was terrified of. I asked him out that night, right after a particularly… heated night in my dorm."

The laugh Rosalie let loose was bone-chilling. If Bella hadn't been so sure that she was dating a real human and not a ghost, she would have been sure they had come to the part where Rosalie admitted to killing him. But, since Bella had been able to kiss him, she was pretty sure he wasn't dead. "He freaked out, of course. He's Edward Cullen, it's what he does best. Granted, part of it was my fault. I used that dreaded l-word. He was still a young, dumb teenage boy; he was absolutely terrified of that word. Still is, probably. But he ran out of there so fast, he created a wind throughout my dorm."

"That's it?" Bella didn't care if she sounded like a bitch. Rosalie had been building her up, leading her to believe that Edward was the culprit. She'd even said that it would ruin her view of him! _That lying bitch._

"Not even close, Isabella," Rosalie snapped. "Can I finish now, or are you just going to bitch me out without letting me get to the important part?"

"You made me think it was all Edward's fault! Him denying you –"

"Bella, shut up.

Bella was so surprised, she forgot to retort. Rosalie's voice was so heavily laced with malice that it made her flinch away involuntarily. Rosalie's bright blue eyes were boring holes straight into her brown ones, and it made the hair on the back of her neck stand straight up.

"Thank you. Anyway, I waited for a few days; I thought maybe he just needed a few days to be sure if I were serious or not. I gave him three days before going over to his house. Alice greeted me at the door, which was strange, because she never skipped school. I planned on just waiting for him in his bedroom; I'd done it a million times before. But she kept trying to get me to stay away from the room."

It clicked. Edward's terrified stare when Rosalie showed up unexpectedly, Rosalie's angry glare every time he was around… it all just magically appeared, clear as glass, in front of her eyes.

"Who was it?" Bella whispered. Rosalie looked surprise, as though she hadn't expected her to put it together that quickly. But the glimpse of pain Bella caught behind her eyes was very real. It made Bella's heart, still feeling the sting of Rosalie's first wave of pain, crack a little bit more.

Rosalie lifted her chin, a bit defiant. "Tanya Denali."

Bella's heart broke. She had seen a picture of Tanya and her sisters on Esme's desk while she was working on Tanya's parents' house. The girl herself was a tall, leggy, beautiful strawberry-blonde. Gorgeous, yes, but nowhere close to Rosalie's classic bombshell beauty. "She moved here a few months after they did; their parents got offered some huge museum management job down here, and it was just a bonus to have such fabulous family friends close by. Tanya goes to the University of Washington now. But anyway, when I finally got past Alice I found them together. Like, all bare tits and asses."

"What did he _do_?" Bella was astounded. She couldn't even picture Edward, _her_ Edward, in that… compromising of a situation. _I mean, I knew he's had sex. Of course; what teenage guy hasn't? But seriously? I didn't know he was capable of something like that._

"Looked at me. Just kept going, but stared at me until I couldn't take it anymore. I bolted."

Bella was heartbroken. She'd known, coming into the conversation, that things wouldn't be the same. But the fact that Edward, her perfect-beyond-belief boyfriend, had done something even remotely like that to a girl was devastating. She'd known that he was a little… promiscuous before he'd asked her out. _Maybe he still is,_ she mused, but then quashed it. She refused to think that Edward would do that.

"I didn't mean to scare you." Bella cursed herself; she'd never been good at disguising her thoughts. "But seriously. I wanted to warn you; you seem like a pretty… cool girl, Bella. I don't want to see you get hurt. I've known girls like you. Girls like you don't deal well with the kind of pain Edward Cullen dishes out."

Bella was left to ponder Rosalie's heavy load of information as the blonde offered her a weak smile, a pat on the head, and walked out. But, right as she'd finally calmed her confusion (_Rosalie thinks I'm a cool girl? Hello,__Isabella, that is __**definitely **__not the issue here!_), she was interrupted again.

"Hey Bells."

**So, how was it? Review and let me know.  
Also, I'd like to mention that this chapter is for Emily, or ilikedvampiresbeforetwilight, because she's… well, Emily. So than you, Emily, for reading this story and making fun of me until my face catches on fire.  
-irishphoenix615**

**Thanks To My Reviewers:  
Blue-Eyed Chica: Thank you for loving it. Thanks for the review!  
Girlz-Rule: I hope this was moderately soon. Thanks for the review!  
Petaloutha: I hope that you're satisfied with the conversation. Thanks for the review!  
yankeerose: There are so many more secrets to uncover. Thanks for the review!  
ilikedvampiresbeforetwilight: TNEC to you too. Thank you for actually reading. Love you too. Thanks for the review!**


	12. Chapter Eleven: Jasper Claus?

**Oh my. It's been entirely too long since I've updated (as I get reminded every day). I don't have time to write at school anymore (tear) so I have to cram it all in at night.  
But! I know where the story will end up. And the high school section is almost over. I posted something on my profile about skipping college, but I thought about it, and I won't be able to. It'll go quickly, but I won't be able to skip it. Oh well.  
This is supposed to be a mildly funny chapter, to offset all of the drama. And I know it's short, but it moves the story onto bigger and better things. Enjoy.  
-irishphoenix615**

Bella didn't realize how long she had been away from the party until Edward came to get her. When he finally coaxed her out of the Cullen library, nearly all of the guests were gone. Only Jacob and Reneesme were left, and Jacob was in the process of getting their coats. The sight of egotistical Jacob Black getting his girlfriend's coat made Bella smile. A week ago, he had scoffed at Edward for doing the exact same thing.

She glanced at the clock and was shocked to see that it was well past midnight. She glanced around quizzically; Jasper and Alice were nowhere to be found. _Well that's new,_ she thought dryly, glancing around one more time for her brother. _He was always the one up at midnight when we were kids, harassing Charlie and me about opening presents. Weird…_

Edward, who obviously read the confusion on her face as easily as Rosalie had earlier, placed a hand on the small of her back and whispered in her ear, "Mom and Dad sent him to the cottage to get the presents. Our family has this tradition of opening presents right after the Christmas party. Apparently their son used to be a little brat and woke them up at five every Christmas morning, only about three hours after they were able to go to bed." The smile on his lips, Bella's favorite crooked grin, melted the tension right out of her shoulders and made her nerve endings sing in a way that wasn't entirely unpleasant. "This was their solution."

"I bet you still are a brat," she shot back, a smile working its way onto her own lips. Seeing that, Edward's smile became sunshine-bright. It reached all the way up to his eyes, which were, at the moment, twinkling caramel pools.

"It's good to see you smile, Bells. You've looked preoccupied all night." Bella opened her mouth to respond, to answer him truthfully about what Rosalie had said to her, but she was instantly distracted by the entrance of her older brother.

Jasper was decked out in a Santa suit, fake cotton beard, and a pair of Charlie's old police boots, yelling 'Merry Christmas!' and chortling in the deepest voice he could muster. It was a scene straight from their childhood, and it made Bella laugh so hard tears formed in her eyes. The Cullens, who didn't quite get the joke, were just laughing at how utterly ridiculous Jazz looked. He even went as far as to stuff the belly of the suit, something Edward just couldn't get over. He kept punching his best friend, making both of them laugh. Alice and Bella exchanged a look and shrugged. Boys.

"Cut it out Cullen!" You're making it really hard to play the part!" Jasper yelled in his regular voice, completely out of character.

"Boys!" Esme chided, gently pulling them apart. For being such a tiny woman, she was surprisingly strong. "Com on now, it's Christmas! Jasper is being very kind by dressing up and passing out presents, Edward, so be nice!" It was then that Bella noticed the very large black velvet sack Jasper was carrying (well, dragging) behind him. Bella eyed it apprehensively; it looked big enough to hold all six people in the room inside of it, not to mention a very large number of presents.

"The first present," Jasper announced in his theatrically deep voice, completely back in character, "is for Esme!" Esme strolled forward and took the present Jasper held toward her, walked back to her spot next to Carlisle on the couch, and set the present down at her feet, unwrapped. _That's really awesome; she waits for everyone. _"Edward!" Edward followed suit, and it took Bella few more presents to figure out that waiting was just another part of the Cullen family tradition. _That's really coo-_

"Bella!"

She felt the blood rush to her cheeks. Jasper was holding out a medium-sized box, wrapped in silver snowflake-covered paper, and staring at her expectantly. She hesitantly stumbled the four or so feet between herself and Jazz, terrified. She'd not expected there to be anything for her in the sack. She hurriedly sat down and stared at the tag:

_**To: Bella  
Merry Christmas sweetie.  
Love, Esme**_

The pass-out process took about an hour, and despite her predictions, Bella ended up with a pretty sizable stack. It kicked her guilt up a notch, she already felt she was taking advantage of the situation by not paying Esme and Carlisle rent, but it made her feel truly a part of the family. The last present to be handed out was her present to Edward; a pretty blue bag with cute cartoon ornaments all over it. While Edward, Carlisle, and Jasper were occupied with setting up the tables and such for the party the night before, Alice and Bella had slipped out to the store so she could buy him a present. He glanced at her in mock-suspicion as he went to receive it.

"Dig in, guys!" Jazz announced, smiling at everyone and kissing Alice on the cheek. Everyone listened.

Bella was remarkably surprised. Esme absolutely adored the antique china set she received from Bella, and Carlisle deeply appreciated the two paintings of ancient Rome that she had gotten him; he was a historical art nut. Alice squealed when she opened her "Bella Coupon Book," which contained things such as "One Afternoon Of Taking Me Shopping, Mostly Complaint-Free" and "One Hour Of Throwing Out The Parts Of My Wardrobe You Hate." Jazz just laughed; she had gotten him a book all about the Civil War. He was a total history nut.

She loved all of the gifts she received: a fifty-dollar gift card to the mall from Alice, a new (and beautiful) copy of Wuthering Heights from Jasper, a beautiful stationary/pen set from Esme, and a complete set of Jane Austen's works from Carlisle.

Edward reached for the bag she had gotten him. Bella's eyes widened, and she instantly busied herself with Wuthering Heights. She was so nervous; what if he hated it?

"Bells…" he whispered, "this is… wonderful." He was holding the beautiful, embossed-leather music composition book in his pale fingers, awed. "How… how did you know?"

Bella didn't want to tell him the real reason she knew about his love for music, which was that she and Alice had been doing secret snooping missions, trying to figure out more about him, so she simply settled on, "Jazz mentioned it one time."

The intensity of the stare he was giving her nearly made her melt into a small puddle of girl-shaped happiness.

* * *

Christmas Day itself was a lazy affair around the Cullen house. There was really nothing to do, since they had eaten their Christmas dinner the night before and opened their presents before going to sleep. Esme and Carlisle were spending the day in their cabin, teenager-free; Jasper and Edward were up in Jazz's room, playing videogames and doing everything they usually did when they hung out together. Alice was in her room, plotting the systematic destruction of Bella's comfort zone via trashing her wardrobe.

All of this left Bella alone with Rosalie.

Bella thought that, since Rose had confided in her the unwelcome but necessary truth about Edward, everything would stop being awkward and they could move on. Oh how wrong she was. Rosalie refused to answer in anything but monosyllables, and Bella's inquiries gradually got softer and softer until she was merely mouthing things. It was two hours before Rosalie would even speak a sentence.

"What the hell, might as well," Bella heard her whisper under her breath. Then, loud enough so Bella knew she was supposed to hear, "Hey Bella, want to come look up colleges with me? I've never been very good at computers."

**I know, I know, they haven't talked yet. It's coming, guys, I promise. And yes, the college thing is important. A little random, yes, but important all the same.  
Thanks for sticking with it!  
-irishphoenix615**

**Thanks to my reviewers:  
ilikedvampiresbeforetwilight: And yell you did. =) Hope it's okay. Thanks for the review.  
HarryandGinnyeternal: Sadly enough, she was. Sorry this took so long. Thanks for the review.  
neeky baby: Sorry this took so long! Thanks for the review.  
Girls-Rule: Here it is. Thanks for the review.  
Petaloutha: Next chapter is when she gets into it with him. Thanks for the review.  
Blue-Eyed Chica: It is terrible. But I'm sick of all the 'Edward's all perfect and no baggage' images. Thanks for the review.  
justjennie: Sadly, it was nobody more exciting than Edward coming to get her. And indeed he was. Thanks for the review.**


	13. Chatper Twelve: The First Night

**Oh wow, it's been way too long. I posted something on my profile about posting two chapters together when I could. Well, I tried to make this chapter longer than usual because I'm still trying to finish editing the next chapter. It's done though, so it should be up within a few days. Maybe within the weekend.  
I hope you enjoy this! It's what you've been waiting for! (dun dun dun)  
-irishphoenix615**

It was February before Bella had a chance to talk to Edward. She was starting to think that he was doing it on purpose; she would be at the library late, looking up scholarships and working on college applications, and he had decided to join Forks High's soccer team. Of course, even though he'd never played before in his life, he was a natural. Their schedules always clashed. The only time they ever really got to spend together was during the ride to school and during those precious thirty minutes spent at their tree during lunch. Bella didn't want to bring it up in public, so she kept waiting.

However, around the sixth of February, the snow began to fall, something not uncommon in Washington in the winter. What was different about this snow was that, instead of transforming into a soggy mush within twenty minutes, it stayed put, powdery and packed. By the tenth, snow was piled up three-quarters of the way up the Cullens' front door. School (and therefore all sports) was cancelled until further notice.

"Hey Bells!" Alice greeted cheerfully two days after school closed, passing through the kitchen where Bella was busy making stew. "That smells heavenly. Here, let me stir for a while." Bella shot her a dark look. For all of her talents and charm, Alice was a lousy cook. Just the other day, she'd caught the microwave on fire trying to make popcorn. "I'm serious. Edward's going stir-crazy up there. He's your boyfriend, you go calm him down. Jasper already tried, and he got his head bitten off." Bella just rolled her eyes, passed over the wooden spoon, and started up the stairs.

Despite having been with Edward for nearly four months, being alone with him still made her extremely nervous. No matter what Rosalie had said, he still looked like a Greek god, and she was still just as head-over-heels in love with him as she had been for years. It was easier to shove Rosalie's story out of her mind now that the blonde goddess herself was out of the house. She had gone off to college the minute she'd gotten her acceptance letter, thanking Carlisle and Esme profusely but insisting that it was time to go. Needless to say, Edward had been extremely relieved when the front door had finally shut behind her. Bella felt her palms start to tingle the closer she got to Edward's door.

Sure enough, just like Alice had said, Edward was pacing a hole in his bedroom floor when Bella finally found the courage to push open his door. Clad only in a pair of black basketball shorts (the pair Renesmee had given him for Christmas), the sight of him made her heart begin to pound and her breath catch in her throat. He heard the door open, turned to face her, and shot her the brightest smile she'd ever seen. "Bella, come in!"

"Hey Edward." She was shocked at how… flirtatious she sounded. If he noticed, he paid no attention to it, probably for her sake. "I… uh…" _There it is, _her mind sniggered. _There's the blushing and the stuttering! It's about time! _"We need to talk." _Shit. Bad phrasing!_

The easy-going grin dancing across his lips vanished almost instantaneously, replaced by a frightening mix of emotions. It made Bella's heart hurt to realize she was the reason for his panic. "Bells, do we have to do this now?" he asked, almost begging. Bella's heartstrings pulled just a little bit tighter. "It's such a lovely day, maybe some other time when it's rainy outside, or…" The desperation in his voice almost crumbled her will.

Almost. "Edward," she said gently, sitting on his silky sheets and taking his hand, "if we don't about this now, it's just going to tear us apart. It's always in the back of my mind, and it drives me crazy not being able to know your side. Please."

At first, Bella was afraid he wasn't going to respond; that he was going to tell her to just fuck off. But he was always shocking her. "Promise not to hate me, okay?" he asked in barely above a whisper. "Break up with me if you have to, just don't hate me.

"I guess it all started what would've been my sophomore year of high school. I was fifteen, and I thought I was the hottest thing on Earth. Of course, it didn't help that I was 'seeing' these two girls, Tanya and Jane. They were the only two in the small town we lived in who had as much money as my family. Carlisle didn't flash it around, but I sure as fuck did. Money equaled sex back then. Tanya and Jane were too above everyone else to bother with those whose parents made less than six figures a year. Not only was I popular, I was rich, and I was a cocky bastard. Both girls knew I was fucking the other." He gave a small, rueful laugh. "I still sound as crass as I did back then. I'm sorry Bella, it's just…. Whenever I think about it, I slip back into my old way of speaking."

"It's okay," she said gently. _He sounds just as bad as Jacob, _she thought worriedly. _Not good. _

Despite her reassurances, she still caught the panic that flashed through his eyes. "Rosalie was the only girl not drawn to me because of my money. She became my escape. I began to get sick of the shallow, stupid girls I was getting. Every night was the same: pick up Tanya or Jane, go to some party, get drunk, have sex, go back, pick up another girl, and do it again. I was starting to just go through the motions when I met Rose. We first met at a friend of mine's bar. She had long blonde hair, a sharp tongue, and no idea who I was. It was a strange kind of heaven.

"We started out by just seeing each other once a week. I started seeing less and less of Tanya and Jane and all of those other girls I went to school with and more and more of Rose. I eventually brought her home to meet Esme and Carlisle. I could tell Esme didn't like her, and Carlisle didn't trust her; we used to fight about it weekly. They really didn't want me to date her like I said I wanted to. I didn't know until the end that I had a problem with commitment then.

"And then, one night, after one of our sessions, she asked me to be her boyfriend. I panicked. I intending on saying yes, but instead, I stared at her like a deer in the headlights, and eventually just ran. I expected her to come after me. I waited for four days before I called Tanya over. I was sixteen then, and I needed my nightly dose of sex." He gave a shaky laugh. "How dumb I was. I was obsessed with control back then. I didn't want anyone on top of me, especially Tanya, who would take it way too far. But I was weak; I was upset. I let her. We were going at it when…"

"When Rosalie walked in," Bella finished, voice shaking. She could barely believe it was true. He nodded, shame written all over his face.

"I couldn't stop looking at her. I thought I was hallucinating, it was so surreal. Tanya fucking me, Rose showing up out of nowhere… a few days later I went looking for her, when I realized it was all real. She'd dropped out, and all of her old friends were talking about pregnancy.

"I wondered every day if that really was the reason she'd left. I decided that she would've told me if she really were pregnant with my kid. I suppressed it, but nobody was happier than I was when Carlisle came home saying that he'd gotten a transfer into a tiny town in Washington. I could finally start over. I moved here, and the very next day, I met your brother.

"I didn't come out and tell Jasper right away. I knew that he could tell something had happened, but he never pushed the issue. He did, however, keep pushing me to come meet his family. I'd heard he had a sister, but I had no idea who you were. The day I told him about Rose was the first day I came to your house."

Bella could imagine that day perfectly in her mind. It had been during her sixth week of freshman year; she was always being made fun of for being so small and bookish. In walked Jasper and his best friend, a bronze-haired, golden-eyed god. That was the day Bella had fallen in love with him.

"I found out a lot of things that day. All of the girls I'd ever been with were bleach-blonde, with stuffed bras and fake attitudes. I saw you sitting at the kitchen table that day, and I found myself immensely attracted to you. You didn't have a stitch of makeup on, and you were still gorgeous. You were obviously intelligent; Jasper had told me how you were a year ahead of where you were supposed to be. You could hold your own against Jasper, and he could be very cruel to you. You were guarded; I could tell you didn't trust me.

"I waited, I made small steps with you. I never intended to move things as quickly as we progressed into a relationship. I kept Jazz at bay by telling him I saw you as a little sister, but he started seeing through that at the end of last year. He kept threatening me, telling me that I was still his best friend, but I had better not lay a fucking finger on you. He's very protective of you.

"But then your dad died. It was… unbelievably difficult to see you that torn up, and not be able to cry about it. You felt that you had to be strong for Jasper." He sat down next to her, pulled her into his lap, and tilted her head up to face him. She was stunned. Speechless. "And then you moved in. I knew then that I had to do something."

"And here we are," she murmured.

He nodded. "And here we are."

Bella's head was spinning. Everything Edward had said made so much sense. She'd known that he had a small fear of commitment; they'd talked about it one night while he was waiting for Jasper to get out of the shower. But the thing that had her doing summersaults in her mind was the fact that now, Edward was human.

The entire time she'd known him, she'd idolized him like a god. She'd deluded herself into thinking that he was perfect, with a perfect family and a perfect past. His seemingly flawless past and his stunning looks were what made her think that she would never be good enough for him. Now, however, he was merely human.

_Get real, Isabella,_ she snorted to herself._ He'll never be merely anything. He's still amazing, just now he's… more real._

She stared into those beautiful honey eyes, noting with surprise that he seemed to be getting very antsy the longer she stayed silent. "Well, Edward," she started, enjoying the slight squirm. It was funny to be the one in charge for once. "This just proves that you're human. Yeah, you made a mistake. We all do. I still love you just as much as I did then."

As soon as she said it, she clapped her hand over her mouth. That was definitely _not _how she'd wanted that to come out. She'd never said those words to him before, and Rosalie's warning about his fear of commitment rang loud and clear. He looked stunned for a moment before pulling her down to him.

Even though they'd shared plenty of small kisses here and there, their first kiss was probably the longest one they'd had. Part of that was because they were always around other people, partially by his doing. He never pushed her when they were alone, though. He was almost too gentlemanly. Now, however, with her arms flung around his neck, fingers massaging the back of his skull causing him to let loose a few small grunts, she felt all of her inhibition melt away.

"Whoa girl," he joked once he finally pulled away. "Keep kissing like that, my self control will be all gone by next week." He winked playfully at her, and kissed the top of her head. "I love you too."

That was the first night Bella stayed with Edward.

**Well? How was it? I know it reads a little rushed, but just picture him as a little flustered during the conversation and it makes better sense.  
No, they didn't have sex. Not yet.  
I hope you enjoyed it! I already have another story lined up to start after this one (that isn't my sequel to In the Mix)  
It's been a very busy (and productive) couple of weeks!  
Review and tell me how it was (or how angry you are with me for not updating in forever and a day)  
-irishphoenix615**

Thanks to my reviewers:  
yankeerose: So sorry this took so long! Thanks for the review.  
alicenative: it's supposed to be almost overwhelming for them. And I'm tapping into the maternal side of Esme, the side that wouldn't turn away someone in need even if they're not well-liked. Thanks for the review.  
Girlz-Rule: I'm sorry it took so long! Thanks for the review.  
Blue-Eyed Chica: He's back to nearly-perfect for now, I'm afraid. Thanks for the review.  
Edar: Here's your more. Haha. SHOW UP FOR GRADUATION TESTING NEXT WEEK! Thanks for the review.  
Petaloutha: I hope the talk was interesting, I made his take more detailed and more… realistically spoken. Thanks for the review.


	14. Chapter Thirteen: Graduation Day

**Hello, welcome to the longest chapter I've written so far! It was going to be longer, but I had to end it somewhere. Everyone knows how I love a cliffhanger.  
And if you don't know what to write in a valedictorian speech, ask one. They're great resources.  
Anyway, enough of my babble. Here's graduation!  
-irishphoenix615**

The rest of senior passed in a blur for Edward, Bella, Jasper, and Alice. Bella finally understood why they were called the best times of one's life; she was happier than she'd been since her childhood.

Jasper had finally joined the Drama Club. He had only been to three meetings before tryouts for the spring musical, Into The Woods. Despite what he'd originally thought, Jazz found acting a wonderful outlet for all of his energy. He had landed a lead role, Jack, with ease. He'd dyed his honey-blonde hair dark brown, which Alice had absolutely no objections to. Bella had never been prouder of her brother as she was on opening night, when he delivered an almost perfect performance. He'd been accepted to the University of Washington, where he was going to major in teaching, specifically US History.

Alice had been nominated Prom queen (naturally). She also had decided to not only support Jasper by showing up for every rehearsal, but also by getting involved with Into The Woods too. She'd volunteered herself to make the costumes, using her flair for fashion to create possibly the most beautiful play Forks High had ever seen. Word of the colorful outfits and kooky costumes had spread up as far as La Push, the reservation Jacob was friend. The turn out had almost tripled what the Drama Department had expected; there weren't enough seats in the theatre to house everyone. Alice, too, had been accepted to University of Washington to major in fashion design.

Edward had been Prom king. He'd managed to shatter the school's record for most goals scored in a single soccer season. He was considered the hero of Forks High. Every single girl in school had asked him to Prom after he'd won the first state championship the town had ever seen. Bella kept joking with him that eventually the mayor would get around to building him a statue and putting it up in the center of town. She'd been tickled many a time for that remark. However, every second that wasn't spent on the field was spent with Bella; they'd been voted "Most Likely To Get Married" by their peers at the senior picnic. Bella, of course, had blushed like mad, but Edward had simply leaned down and kissed her. He also was planning on attending UW for pre-med.

Bella herself had never imagined that she would be as involved with school as she was. She was, naturally, valedictorian, and she'd volunteered to do tech for Into The Woods. She also had attended every single soccer game, even the ones in Seattle, earning her the title of "Most Spirited Fan." The entire school had gotten a kick out of that one. She was still avoiding anything overly sexual with Edward, but she knew that her resolve would melt away sooner or later. Not today, however. Today was the second saddest day Bella had ever experienced.

Today she, Isabella Swan, was graduating high school.

She didn't really know how she felt; she was too busy trying to memorize the speech she had to make as valedictorian. She could feel something, though, resting just below the surface. It was almost like a barely-controlled sense of panic. She'd attempted to write it off as pre-graduation jitters, but staring at her note cards wasn't causing her to nearly be sick. Putting on her gown did.

Alice had come into her room around 5:30 unable to sleep anymore. Bella, who had been up for almost an hour, welcomed her gratefully; she was eager for anything to break the bone-crushing silence. She'd even given Alice permission to do her makeup, she was feeling that out of whack.

It was different for them than the boys; Edward's parents had taken to introducing Jasper to their college professor friends as their surrogate son, and Jasper had embraced it wholeheartedly. They offered the same kindness and opportunities to Alice and Bella, but the girls still couldn't come to really think of Esme and Carlisle as their parents. Bella's memories of Charlie were still fresh, and she could still occasionally recall scenes from her childhood, with Renee. Alice's parents had been killed in a car crash when she was three, and hadn't really formed a parental bond with anyone since. Numerous counselors, the best money could buy, always chalked it up to fear of loss. Alice just said it was weird to know that she had parents of her own, but couldn't remember their faces.

Bella had attributed Alice's despondent mood to this fact for about an hour before realizing that, as long as she'd known the little pixie of a girl, her parents had never depressed her. Something wasn't adding up. "Alice," Bella asked gently as the tiny girl applied makeup to her own face, "what's wrong?"

She paused for about a second too long. Her expressive toffee eyes, the only true way to gauge her reactions, went from dull to panic before carefully settling on confused. Anyone who wasn't accustomed to the emotional range of Alice Cullen would've missed it. "What're you talking about, Bells? I'm fine, just a little scared. Graduation and all, y'know?"

"Bullshit." Bella gently pried the stick of eyeliner, which Alice was gripping as though it could anchor her to the world, before pulling her to sit down on the large plush bed. She stared at her for a while, waiting for the terrified girl's wandering caramel eyes to lock on to her own, before saying simply, "Tell me."

It took maybe three seconds, enough for Bella to wonder if maybe she'd misread the signs, before Alice finally wailed, "I'm such an idiot!" and burst into tears.

Frightened by the outburst, not expecting such a violent reaction, Bella instinctively wrapped her arms tightly around the small girl. "No you're not, sweetie. What happened?" _Did I just call her sweetie?_

"Remember how after Prom, Edward walked in on me and Jasper about to have sex?" Bella nodded; Edward had been furious for days. "Well, we didn't, because Edward ruined the mood, and made things really awkward, and just… yeah. Well, Jazz and I had to clean up after closing night of Woods. Mr Compton left us alone by ourselves because he knew we'd get everything done, and we were just joking around, throwing dust at each other and he kept tickling me and I kept poking his stomach, and we were dancing around, and then he started talking about how he wished that Edward hadn't interrupted us because he really wanted it to happen between us, and I agreed, and we kept talking about how much we loved each other, and one thing lead to another, and we came back here, made sure you and Edward were busy, and went up to his room and just… did it." All of this came out in a rush; it took Bella a few seconds to decipher it. "That's why we had to go back the next morning, because we left in the middle of cleaning and we knew that Mr C would be so pissed if he came back that Monday morning and it wasn't cleaned."

_Leave it to Jasper,_ Bella thought sarcastically. _He finds the most inconvenient time to get in someone's pants. _"That doesn't make you dumb, Als." Alice's sobs increased tenfold. Bella desperately racked her brains for something she could say.

Or something Alice hadn't said.

"Alice…" she said slowly, not wanting to startle the hysterical girl anymore, "did you guys use –"

"It broke!" she cried, burying her head into Bella's arms. "He told me it broke, but I told him to do it anyway. Don't get me wrong, it was utterly fantastic, and nothing's changed between the two of us, but I'm four days late on my period, and I don't know what I'm going to do if I'm pregnant!"

Bella didn't, couldn't, say anything. She just simply sat there and stroked Alice's hair until she calmed down a little bit, buying some time. "Have you bought a test?" she finally asked. Alice shook her head. "We're going out after the ceremony, then. You have to take one, it's just putting more stress on you. _And the maybe-baby,_ she thought, but didn't say.

Alice had successfully cried off all of her makeup, so Bella gently guided her back over to the vanity and helped her reapply everything. She had the feeling she wasn't that much help, but Alice never complained. In what felt like mere seconds (but was actually around thirty minutes), Esme showed up in Bella's bedroom door, announcing that the guys were ready to go and quickly getting impatient.

"Carlisle and I will meet you guys at the auditorium after the ceremony," she told them tearfully. "Good luck on your speech, Bella. I know you'll do great."

Bella and Alice hugged the petite woman, greeted the guys in front of the door, and headed off to their ceremony.

* * *

"Ladies and gentlemen, the valedictorian for the class of 2007, Miss Isabella Swan!" The wave of thunderous applause from both her classmates and their families shocked Bella, so much so that she almost tripped over herself walking to the podium. _You probably would have tripped anyway._ She peered out over the microphone, staring down into the uncertain faces of her classmates, expressions that all mirrored her own. None of them were sure what would happen to them after this ceremony, but for the last time, they were together in the safety of their 'home.'

"It's been four long years since we first started here at Forks High," she began. "As freshmen, we weren't sure what to expect from this school. Some of us carried popularity over from middle school," her eyes flashed toward Jessica Stanley and Mike Newton, "and others of us preferred our studies to the social aspect of high school. None of that really matters now.

"Here we are, four years later; older, wiser, more prepared for the real world. We've all had some good times within these walls; some of us have had some bad times. Now, as we go out to face the world, we have these memories to draw strength from, to refer back to and say, 'If I survived _that_, I can certainly survive this.' Congratulations, classmates from the class of 2007. Some of us will never see one another again, but I'm fairly certain we will never forget these four years." Bella caught Alice's winking eye and, in a very Legally-Blond-esque gesture, squealed, "We did it!"

The actual diploma ceremony took less time than Bella had expected. All ninety-two diplomas were given out in less than an hour, and then the graduates were thrust into the eager and welcoming arms of well-wishers. Rose was the first to reach the group of four.

"Congratulations!" she screamed, flinging herself onto the unsuspecting Alice and Bella. "You guys did it! Awesome speech, Bells, it was super-inspiring. When do you guys move in at UW?"

"Let them breathe, Rose!" Edward chuckled. Ever since coming completely clean with Bella, Edward and Rosalie had become close friends. Bella never really worried about the two of them, because Edward wasn't really Rose's type anymore. She was more into super-jocks with more muscles than brains. Edward bent down and pressed a kiss to Bella's temple. "Find me later, okay? I need to talk to you."

And just like that, Bella's mood sunk from euphoria down into near-depression. She tried to keep her smile from faltering, but from the expression on Alice's face, she knew she hadn't covered it up well. She nodded at him, kissing his cheek, before turning to Alice as a way to escape. "Ready Alice?"

"Yep. I'll go get the car."

"Where are you girls going?" Esme asked curiously in the middle of embracing Jasper with a bone-crushing hug. "That huge pool party you four planned is scheduled to start in an hour; will you be home in time?"

"Of course!" Alice chirruped, making Bella laugh. _Satan would need mittens before Alice skipped her own party. _"We're just going to stop by the mall. I made the mistake of letting Bella go swimsuit shopping by herself, and the one she bought was all wrong. We'll be back in no time. Promise!" She kissed Esme on the cheek before dragging Bella off to the car.

"Swimsuit shopping?" she asked in horror as Alice put the car in gear. Pregnancy tests were one thing. Being in a mall full of swimsuits with Alice Cullen was a completely different story. "Alice, we really won't -"

"Don't worry, I was kidding about that part!" Alice waved her suspicions away with a flick of her wrist. The movement drew Bella's attention to the speedometer, and she instantly wished it hadn't; Alice was going at well over ninety miles an hour. "Although, I did take a peek at what you bought, and it _is_ all wrong. I've already got you a replacement, though, it's navy blue and will complement your gorgeous skin. Oh, stop looking so sick Bells, you're going to be fine. Edward will absolutely drool all over himself when he sees it."

Bella tuned out the rest of Alice's monologue; that sentence stirred up all of that fear she'd built up since he told her they needed to talk. If he broke up with her, it could really complicate things for college. All five of them had found a three-bedroom apartment together near campus. If he broke it off now, she could never face him in such tight quarters, especially when he started bringing girls home. She'd end up in a psych ward before the end of first semester. And her brain really couldn't think of any other solutions. She'd never heard of those words being anything but bad.

"We're here!" Alice announced, gleeful despite the circumstance. Bella rolled her eyes; she had naturally picked the most rundown gas station in Forks. "I wanted the authentic teen pregnancy experience. If I really am, you know, pregnant. Which I'm totally not, right? Tell me I'm not pregnant Bells."

"You're not pregnant," Bella deadpanned as they climbed out of the Volvo. Alice practically skipped in front of her. "You know, we might want to wait until we get back to your house. This doesn't look like the most sanitary of places to pee on a stick."

"You're right." The second Alice grabbed the test (of course choosing the one with the brightest packaging), her tightly-wound energy seemed to drain. "Holy shit, Bella. I never thought this would be my life. You know, maybe-pregnant at eighteen. It's so strange."

"Tell me about it," Bella muttered, handing money over to the cashier. He was leering at the both of them in a way that made her skin crawl in a completely different way than Edward did. She was suddenly very aware that she _did_, in fact, look very much like a seventeen-year-old, and that she was still wearing the ridiculously short dress Alice had forced her to wear under her gown. He was the kind of man they posted warnings about on the six o'clock news.

"Y'all have a good day now," he called after them.

"Captain Creepy of Creeptown, wasn't he?" Alice whispered as she burned rubber out of the parking lot.

"Definitely," Bella answered back just as softly. She couldn't seem to take her eyes off of the brown paper bag wedged firmly between the console and her leg. It didn't look like anything special, but it might as well have had flashing lights and police sirens attached to it; neither girl could look away from it for long.

"We need to cheer up," Alice said decidedly after a few minutes. "Pregnant or not, we just graduated high school! We are about to go to a party, where both of our wonderful, amazing boyfriends will be-" Bella's stomach flopped sadly at that "-and we are going to look smokin'! We need to put on our game faces, or rather our party faces, and just go with it! Let's get ready to party!"

Nearly drowned out by the sudden loud, awful mix of nineties pop songs blaring through the radio, Bella muttered to herself, "Yeah, this party's going to be one to remember."

**Oh, the suspense.  
Yeah, I know, not really.  
Not everything is as it seems (wow, I'm feeling extra-lame right now). The next chapter is the party, and will be up before the end of my Spring Break (which is, obviously, now). This chapter and the next were both written after taking the Graduation Tests, so I definitely had graduation on the brain. Anyway, hope you enjoyed.  
-irishphoenix615****Girlz-Rule: I hope this didn't take too long. Thanks for the review.  
Blue-Eyed Chica: Thank you! I figured that was a pretty important one in their relationship. Thanks for the review.  
Petaloutha: He actually explains it… next. She does get pissed at him eventually (obviously). Thanks for the review!**

Thanks to my reviewers!:  
Edar: If I'm not allowed to make sarcastic comments about my writing ability, you aren't about yours either. How was this for an update?  
lovelywendy: Hope this didn't take too long! Thanks for the review.  
yankeerose: Yes, there is. Hopefully he will. =) Thanks for the review.


	15. Chapter Fourteen: A Modest Proposal

**Hello there. This is the fastest update I've ever done, I think. Thank Emily (ilikedvampiresbeforetwilight) for this very fast update; she threatens my life daily between third and fourth period.  
This was actually my favorite chapter to write, although it was very sappy. But hey, everybody needs a little sap in their life, right?  
Enjoy.  
-irishphoenix615**

Thirty minutes into the party, Bella was beginning to wish that it would just rain and force everyone to go home. She and Alice had come back to a house full of guests and two suddenly clingy boyfriends. They'd barely had enough time to change into their swimsuits (Alice ended up forcing her into that dark blue bikini she'd bought) before Jasper showed up at the door of Alice's room telling them to hurry. Bella barely shoved the pregnancy test under a pillow in time.

"Edward's looking for you, Bells. He looked kinda agitated," he told her as he escorted his girlfriend and his sister down to the pool area.

Bella rolled her dark eyes, trying to hide her sudden fear. _Edward wants to leave you._ "He probably just wanted to tell me something. It can wait; I'm going to go play hostess." She offered Alice a tentative smile, because the panic hadn't left her eyes yet, and threw herself mind, body, and soul into the party.

It was oddly freeing, smiling and laughing with the people she never thought she'd like. About fifteen minutes in, Bella found herself having a very animated conversation about whether or not Mike would ask the former cheerleading captain to marry him before they went off to college. Jess was hoping yes; Bella, always the voice of reason, was trying to talk her out of it.

"You're really too young to know if he's what you want for the rest of your life, Jessica," Bella said reasonably. The blonde just looked sadly at her boyfriend, who was chatting amicably with Lauren Mallory. "What if you meet someone in college that is even more wonderful than you think Mike is, and you can't have him even though he might be your 'soul mate' because you made a rash decision and married Mike?"

"He _is_ my soul mate, Bella." Jessica's wide blue eyes blinked at her as though she didn't believe someone didn't think that she and Mike were meant to be. "I love him so much. He's the one for me."

Bella opened her mouth to respond, but glanced over Jessica's shoulder and saw Edward coming towards them with a purposeful shine in his eyes. She felt her stomach drop; she wasn't ready to face that yet. "Excuse me Jessica; I'm getting a little thirsty. I'll catch up with you later."

So she'd been sitting around the side of the house, unseen by anyone, avoiding the impending confrontation. It was excruciating having to watch everyone else having fun; it felt like she had gone back in time and was living her first three years of high school all over again. Except this time, she was hoping against hope that Edward wouldn't notice her.

She wished she could go snatch Alice, under the pretense of finding out what the result of the pregnancy test would be, and escape for a few minutes, but even if she could get to her without Edward seeing, Jasper would tell him where they'd gone and he'd come looking for her. And then they ran the risk of him walking in at the wrong time and catching them with a pregnancy test. As brotherly as he and Jasper were, he would rip Bella's brother apart if he knew Alice and Jazz had sex. And, of course, she knew that she probably couldn't count on his tact if he really wanted to end things. He would probably break it off in front of Alice if he was really over it, and then she wouldn't be able to keep it all inside when he did. It was one thing to cry in front of him; it was a completely different problem if she cried over him in front of Alice.

Esme was the first person to catch sight of her, almost an hour after she'd taken refuge. She'd smiled, obviously a little confused as to why Bella was sitting all alone, and Bella couldn't help but wave back. _She's so friendly,_ she thought. _When Edward breaks up with me, will she still hug me? Will she still acknowledge my existence? She has to, I'll still be friends with Alice, and Jasper will always be my older brother…_

_Cheer the fuck up, Swan,_ she snapped at herself, using a phrase she had heard Edward saying to Jazz recently. _He's going to dump you, so what? You are seventeen years old, and about to go off to college. What do you need a boyfriend for anyway? If he breaks up with you, you'll just find someone eighty times better at UW. Who needs Edward fucking Cullen anyway? So yeah you thought you were going to have his babies. Now you'll get to pursue your own career. _

Even as she snarled the words inside her own mind, she knew that they were just a feeble attempt to convince herself they were true. She knew that Edward was the most important aspect of her life, even if it was a very clichéd teenage thing to know. He'd brought her partway out of her shell, and because of him, she wanted to finish emerging from it. She caught sight of him in the middle of a splash fight with Jasper, really living it up in the pool, and she knew that it was time. She wouldn't directly address him about it; that would be admitting to the entire world that there was a problem. She would casually walk by, making sure he saw her going into the house, alone. Maybe then they could end things in private, and she could break down alone.

She casually strolled by the pool, not daring to turn her head to make it obvious what she was doing (there were still forty or so teenage boys in the yard who would think it was something entirely different) but really wanting to look at him just one last time before he ended it. _Don't, Bella. _It took everything she had to keep her head straight and up high. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him nod at someone, and she thought she saw Alice's spiky head nod back. _You're imagining things,_ she told herself sternly, but two seconds later Alice popped up right in front of her.

"Let's go do that test now!" she said, breathless with a gleam in her eye. It was the last thing Bella wanted right now.

"Maybe in a few minutes Ali, Edward wanted to-"

"Edward's busy with Jasper!" she said a little too quickly. Bella raised her eyebrows; _what the hell?_ "I mean, I asked him to keep him busy while we had girl talk. I told him to come up in fifteen minutes, he told me he had to talk to you…"

Bella nodded along with Alice's rushed explanation, but something in the way the pixie's eyes wandered made her feel like something was off. Maybe she was just stressed about the pregnancy; she really hoped that was it. She didn't know if she could take it if Alice was in on the breakup. _What if this is just a cover-up? What if she's gonna drop me after… Isabella Marie, shut the fuck up._

She had never been more anxious walking up the staircase to Alice's room. If the test came back positive, they'd have to tell Esme and Carlisle. _And_ Edward. But Bella refused to think about the bad outcomes; Alice was pulling out the test from under the frilly pillow she had stuffed it under hours before.

"I can't believe this is happening," she whispered, chocolate eyes locked on the little pink-and-white box. "Of every way to end senior year, pregnancy scares didn't even make the list, I'm not gonna lie." The look on Alice's face told her that it hadn't made her best friend's list either. They stayed in their stalemate, staring at the small cardboard box, for what felt like an hour. Bella knew from her years of being best friends with books that usually during an important event that seems to take forever, only a few minutes really passed.

Not this time.

A soft knock on the door broke their intense concentration. "Knock knock," whispered softly in that voice that Bella loved, shot her heart into overdrive. She tried to tell Alice without words to hide the test again, but the pixie looked suspiciously sheepish. She didn't have time to dwell, however; she instinctively turned toward the door. Standing in the frame, looking more like a Greek god than anyone had the right to, clad only in a pair of board shorts and smiling her favorite half-smile, was Edward. "Heya Alice." His intense eyes flickered over to his cousin for half a second before locking back on Bella. "Bella. Could you come into the kitchen for a moment? I know you don't want to talk here."

"Here is fine." _Damn voice,_ she thought as she heard it waver. He was enough in tune with her mind (and hormones) to know that she could never really resist him, especially when he was half-naked. "We can do it here."

"Go with him Bells," Alice urged, a little too eager. _She's a little too everything tonight,_ Bella scrutinized. Maybe she really was in on it. However, with Edward's honey-colored eyes staring at her imploringly and Alice's tiny little body nearly bouncing a hole in the floor with her exuberance, she had no choice but to allow Edward's strong, warm hand to curl around hers, fingers tangling with hers like they had every right to be there, and pull her close to him. _Damn, I'm going to miss the hand-holding. It feels so secure when he does this. Fuck, I'm feeling prickles._

She nearly threw up when they walked into the kitchen and Bella came face-to-face with eighty-eight of her classmates, Edward's parents, and one silently weeping Rose. _Okay, __**that**__ is scary. Rosalie never cries._ "Do they have to be here for this?" she choked out, almost too low for him to hear. She opened her mouth to repeat it when he nodded his disheveled head – _no more running my fingers through it _– and swiped his lips against her temple once, effectively stunning her into silence.

"Not really, but I'd like them to be. Well, Rose, Mom, and Dad have to be, but I want to do this right." _Breaking up with me in front of everyone we know is doing this right?_ "Bells, I've been thinking about doing this since Christmas, and I finally plucked up the courage." He chuckled, running his left hand through his messy bronze mane in the way she knew he did only when he was highly nervous. "I love you, Isabella. I've loved you for years, and I can't believe you love me back. Your older brother was very skeptical of our relationship, and was not very happy when I approached him about this particular step. But I talked to him. He grilled me on everything: if I was just doing this so you would sleep with me, if I really intended on being with you until the end of my life. Finally, after three months of intensely heated talks and some time of silence, he finally told me a week ago that he was okay with this, as long as we wait at least a year." And he dropped down, in the middle of the kitchen floor, onto one knee.

Bella could no longer see. The moment his other knee hit the floor, her vision clouded over with tears. Of everything he could have done, this was the absolute last thing she thought she'd ever hear him say. She wasn't sure if she was going to make it; her knees felt like jello and she was feeling uncontrollably dizzy. Her heart hammered in her chest, and her breath was coming in gasps.

"Will you marry me?"

In the years to come, Bella would never quite know how she did it, but somehow she managed to lower herself down onto her knees in front of him, eyes locked, not on the ring, but right on his. She could read the love and nervousness written, plain as day, inside of them, and she lightly pressed her lips to his and somehow managed to whisper out her answer. "Yes."

And the moment he slipped the gorgeous antique-looking ring onto her dainty finger and pressed his mouth gently back on hers, heard the cheers and applause, she knew that it was no longer the second saddest day of her life. She saw Alice, jumping excitedly and telling anyone who would listen that she was the one who kept her distracted from all of Edward's planning by fabricating a pregnancy scare, and knew at that moment that she was no longer alone; she had friends and family who cared about her.

And that the rest of her life would only get better.

**Well, how was it? I've never actually had an experience like this, so I was kind of going off of a mix of friends' accounts of their engagements and things I've read. I hope it was a little close to what the real thing is like.  
This is not the end! Obviously. Just the end of this part. The next chapter will be a brief interlude with the present, but then it's off to college for the group!  
Haha, anyway, let me know if you enjoyed it, as always.  
-irishphoenix615**

**Thanks to my reviewers:  
Edar: Fast enough for you? I'll be writing more tomorrow, so yeah. Thanks for reading.  
Girlz-Rule: Nope, she's not! She's just a devious best friend. Thanks for the review.  
****Anniesam123: I hope you enjoy this too! Thanks for the review.  
Petaloutha: I hope it lived up to the build up! Thank you so much, it really means a lot that people like my writing. Thanks for the review!**


	16. Interlude

**THIS IS SHORT! And… not that important.  
It's just a brief jump back to present time, with more brooding by Bella.  
Sorry this took so long, I've been studying for exams pretty much since I posted the last chapter. But now, I'm done. =)  
-irishphoenix615**

You know, looking back on it now, the way things turned out, I still don't think I would change a thing. I still love him, and still want to be married to him…

It'd just be too difficult.

He's publically embarrassed me. Well, not publically, but within our circle of friends. And I know she doesn't mean it, but Rosalie can look mighty damn haughty when she isn't thinking about it. She warned me something could happen, and I didn't listen.

Fools do silly things when they're in love.

We took a cruise that summer. We went around the Caribbean, courtesy of Esme and Carlisle (they never did figure out that I paid them back by having the money wired directly to their account). Alice and Jasper, of course, weren't seen for several days at a time, and I had a hard time keeping Edward from killing my brother. Until, that is, I pointed out that he really couldn't be mad, because we tended to disappear for long periods of time and Jasper had restrained himself. He griped, but didn't act.

I spent the rest of the summer looking for a job in Seattle. I finally got my driver's license, and looked around for a relatively cheap car in good condition. Needless to say, I went to college sans car.

We moved into our apartment with Rosalie sometime around 4 July. In a stroke of genius (and a flash of panic after a phone call from Esme), Alice and I decided to room together and stick Edward and Jasper in the second room. Rose, of course, got the third room all to herself.

And things were good.

College… College was something else.

**I'm posting more tonight, don't worry.  
I just needed an interlude to make this flow a little bit.  
The next chapter is their ENTIRE freshman year.  
-irishphoenix615**

**Thanks to my Reviewers:  
Edar: Yeah, it would have. But I'm not ready to write that kind of drama yet. =) Anyway, I told you I'd probably wait until after AP testing to post. And I did. Don't get all on my case, I'm posting the next chapter tonight. Love you, mean it!  
anniesam123: Thank you! Sorry it took so long. Thanks for the review.  
Petaloutha: Again, sorry this took so long! And there will be a new chapter tonight! Thanks for the review.  
Girlz-Rule: Thank you! Thanks for the review.  
DarkAngelRakell: It'll be… strange. Haha. Thanks for the review.  
snoopydopey: we'll just have to wait and see… Thanks for the review.**


	17. Chapter Fifteen: This Is Halloween

**Okay, I lied.  
This is only them meeting… a very important person. =)  
The rest of freshman year will be up by Friday.  
You guys are awesome!  
-irishphoenix615**

If senior year of high school for Bella was fast-paced, freshman year of college flew by at warp speed. Looking back on it, even a few weeks into the summer following, she only remembered brief snippets and vivid flashes of events. Between her course load (which was refreshingly difficult after the simple monotony of high school), the social outings Rosalie and Alice blackmailed her into going to ("Just one a semester; c'mon Bells, live a little! It's college, and you're getting married this summer!"), and her part-time job at a local bookstore (which was turning out to be more of a full-time career with the hours she was putting in), Bella had spread herself fairly thin.

First semester she managed to avoid every party except one, despite Alice and Rosalie's insistence that she attend. Every time she caught wind of a party on campus, she would beg her manager to schedule her for the latest shift possible. Serena, who was very socially reserved herself, would make sure it happened.

On Halloween, however, the Fates decided to betray her.

Bella woke up that morning completely unaware, just expecting to go to class, work for a few hours, and come home and spend time with her boyfriend. She left the apartment relatively early, earlier than she normally would. None of her roommates were actually going to class that day; all four of them were still nursing hangovers from the night before, so she didn't have to wait around for them to get ready. She was actually relatively on time to her Political Science class for once.

It was during her lunch break that the shit really hit the fan. She normally spent her hour in a small coffee café a few minutes off campus, secluded in a corner with her laptop and Psychology textbook. That day, however, as she pulled up the psychology folder in her documents, she felt the uncomfortable prickling of someone watching her. She looked up to find a huge hulk of a guy standing in front of her table.

"Are you Bella Swan?" he asked. Normally, Bella would have retorted with something akin to 'Who's asking?' but this man intimidated her beyond belief. He was huge, well over six feet, and his bicep was nearly twice the size of her neck. He had thick curly brown hair, dark blue eyes, and the ghosts of dimples bracketing his mouth. Bella could barely nod. _If he wants to kill me, I'm definitely dead. I hope Alice doesn't plan a joke of a funeral for me. _His face broke out into a wide grin. "Awesome. I'm going to your party tonight, just wanted to be sure of the address. It's a little blurry on my invitation."

Bella grabbed the invitation out of his hand and scrutinized it in disbelief. There it was, printed in what she recognized instantly as Rose's prim handwriting:

_**Have no plans for Halloween?  
Come join Rosalie Hale, Edward and Alice Cullen, and Jasper and Bella Swan for their first annual  
**__Haunted Halloween Party_

There was a rather impressive drawing of a ghost holding a pumpkin, probably Jasper's doing, and a blotchy version of their address.

"Is it apartment six or nine?" She tore her eyes away from the hideous orange flyer to stare incredulously up at him. "Jasper gave it to me; he said that it's going to be amazing."

"I'm sure it will be," Bella muttered, not bothering to hide the fury in her voice. "It's six. Have a blast, I'm sure everyone else will." And she left him there, standing by her table with a bemused smile on his face and the idiotic flyer in his hand.

And Bella had never been so furious in her life.

The second she made it out of the tiny shop, she pulled her cell phone from her pocket and dialed the bookstore. Serena answered on the second ring.

"What, Bella?"

"I need to work close tonight," she burst out in a rush, furiously trying to unlock her car and juggle her phone, laptop case, purse, and backpack. "Rose and Alice planned a party at our apartment, and I kind of don't want to go."

"You can't." Bella stopped everything she was doing. "The shop closes at five tonight, sweetheart. I have to take the kids trick-or-treating. I thought I told you that."

Bella wasn't quite sure what response came out of her mouth, but she did get off the phone as quickly as possible. Serena had failed her. She would have to go to the party.

_I am going to murder them all in their sleep.

* * *

_

Bella took the longest way home, with the most traffic, after her shift at the store. She knew that when she got home, there would be random kids already hanging around, beers in hand, ready to harass her to within an inch of her sanity. Edward wouldn't be much help; Rose would probably keep him behind the bar for most of the night so that Bella could 'properly socialize.'

"Bells! You're home!" Alice squealed as she parked the car in front of their door. "Come on, we've got to get you dressed!"

"No."

"Excuse me?"

"I'm not going to your party," Bella said slowly, accentuating each word so that Alice could properly hear them. "I do not particularly feel like being felt up every five seconds, nor am I in the mood to hang around with drunken idiots all night. Enjoy your party, I'm just going to sit in my room and study."

She had made her way to the door by then. She glared at her petite best friend, and then the pixie did something that really shocked her. Alice placed her tiny fists on her hips, leaned forward, and nearly growled at her, "Oh no you won't. You are _going_ to let Rosalie and I dress you, you are _going_ to this party, and you are _GOING _to have a good time." Bella backed up several feet. She had never seen Alice so angry… or so terrifying. "Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes." Bella gulped nervously, knowing that she'd just made things a million times worse for herself.

"Good." Alice's nostrils flared, breathing back to normal. If Bella didn't know that it were completely impossible, she would have said that her small friend would have been breathing fire at any second. "ROSALIE! Bella's here! Bring out the dress!"

Bella could hardly wait. If Rosalie's costume (a small French maid's outfit that Bella couldn't imagine a porn star wearing in public) was any indication of what she was in for, then she would rather go naked. Needless to say, she was very surprised when Rosalie pulled a somewhat-modest dress from the 'hall closet.' It was a deep purple, and only hit about two inches above her knee (_Maybe they're going easy on me tonight…_), with a matching purple belt and large peace sign necklace.

"You're going as a hippie!" Rose announced, thrusting the hanger at her. "Tie the sash around your head, put the peace sign around… your… neck… and…" Rose trailed off, staring at something over Bella's shoulder. Not wanting to miss anything, Bella whipped around…

And saw the guy from the coffee shop.

"Heya guys, I hope I'm not too early…" he smiled warmly, eyes flicking to Alice and Bella before locking right on Rosalie.

"Emmett!" Jasper yelled, coming out of his and Edward's bedroom in nothing but a pair of basketball shorts. "Yo man, what's up? Girls, this is my friend Emmett McCarty, he's in my Economics class." Bella felt a small tap on her shoulder and turned around slightly; Edward had come up behind her and wrapped his arm around her waist.

"Yo, Emmett man," he greeted the huge hulk of a man, who was (ironically enough) dressed in nothing but purple shorts. "Wassup?" Bella cringed inside; it hurt her brain to hear her beautiful boyfriend (_Fiance, Bells, fiancé. God, that's still weird_.) speak with such improper English.

"You two already know each other?" Jasper asked, surprised. Edward and Emmett nodded as they slapped their hands in a weird almost-handshake.

"Yeah bro!" Emmett boomed. His muscles flexed as his hand met Edward's, and Bella watched as Rosalie's eyes followed a path down from his biceps down to his ass, which was slightly turned toward her. If Bella didn't know that Rose was too dignified, she would have been counting down the seconds until the blonde started drooling. "We're in the same bio class!"

"Oh, sweet." Now Emmett and Jasper were doing the weird hand thing. _God, boys make my head hurt,_ Bella thought in confusion. "Well, this is my girlfriend Alice, my sister and Edward's fiancé Bella, and our friend Rosalie."

"Nice to meet you," Rose practically purred. Bella could have sworn the front of Emmett's shorts twitched. "Call me Rose."

"I'll call you whatever you want," he said silkily, staring at her on-display curvaceous body.

Bella rolled her eyes; she knew who would be making the sounds from Rose's bedroom tonight.

**Oh, Emmett. Haha, I dunno, this just sort of popped into my head earlier, and I thought it would be funny to put it in.  
So, I did. =)  
One and a half chapters posted in a day, it's got to be some kind of record. Haha.  
-irishphoenix615**


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